The Paladin has come
by wildman75
Summary: A teen from another dimension says he's here on good terms. But Raven doesn't trust him. Now he's out to prove his loyalty, and show them what he's got. That's if a certain dark goddess's power doesn't kill him before Slade gets him in his clutches.
1. The Paladin has come

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or any products, businesses, etc. mentioned in this fic. Already a story I wrote but I started it over. But enough about me, if you notice something strange in here send reviews. "Flames" are welcome.

A/N: Also, this is my first fic. (Does it still count after 3 years?)

**Chapter I: The Paladin has come**

It was night, nearly three in the morning. In the darkness, a gathering of clouds culminated over Titan's Tower, each rumbling with thunderous power. A trio lightning bolts hurled themselves from the heavens and converged at a single point. From the burning earth wisped up a dark mist that swirled in a continual circuit round and round. A shadowy portal of darkness spun slowly, its grey-tinged black image shrouding in mystery. Slowly a small device fell from the portal and buried itself into the bank of the island. The small galaxy of shadow began to collapse on itself. When it seemed it couldn't get any smaller it silently burst open into a cloud of ash that seemed to disintegrate as it wafted into the air.

_:Titans Tower, the next night:_

"Aww yeeeeah, that's what I'm talkin' about!" an excited Cyborg was yelling.

"HEY, that's not fair, that was pass interference! He took my guy's arm away!" Beast Boy exclaimed. The two were in a fierce competition of Ultra Football IV. They had created their own custom teams and were playing a game with Cyborg in the lead, with Beast Boy behind by just a few points, and the clock dangerously low. Beast Boy had just thrown a Hail Mary for sixty yards only to be denied his long-deserved victory.

"That's what a Safety's supposed to do," he said.

"No way! How is he supposed to catch the ball then? Now you're just making crap up to mess with me. You probably just took off the penalties."

"Dude! First of all, you only have a basic concept of the rules of the game. Which is why I always kick your ass at it. A former athlete like myself," he professed, placing his hand on his chest, "knows that is the purpose of the position. As long as you don't push the guy out of the way. Second, don't you remember the holding call I got on me in the beginning of the fourth quarter? So don't go blaming me that your reciever sucks. Besides, if the game don't say it, Cyborg can play it."

"Oh yeah, well then I challenge you to a rival match."

"Fine by me. Loser does dishes for the week?" The half-robot grinned.

"Living dangerously eh? LET THE GAMES BEGIN!"

"Excuse me!" shouted Raven. "You do know that there are other people in this house right? And just maybe… they wouldn't want to hear all this noise?"

Beast Boy perked up his pointed ears. "Sorry Raven but this is guy stuff, you wouldn't -hey you can't start kickoff now you cheater!" Another grin crossed his giant friend's face.

_Why do they always have to do this?_ Raven asked herself, rubbing her temples in frustration.

The other members of the Team were off doing their own activities. Terra was not paying attention; she was busy dancing to her headphones. Robin was working out in the gym, trying out some new techniques he had learned about, while Starfire was organizing her room.

Suddenly the lights began to flicker, and the power switched off. Beast Boy stared horrified at the blank screen in the dark, Raven dropped her head in defeat, and Cyborg simply scoffed at the irony of it all.

"Oh fate, how cruel you can be." Beast Boy said trying his best to sound poetic with a slight tear in his eye. He began attempting to hug the window/T.V. and nuzzling his cheek against it lovingly.

Cyborg stared at his best friend in wide-eyed shocking disbelief, before slapping his hand against his own face. "Man, just check the damn power," he muffled through his palm.

Cyborg ejected a flashlight from his robotic shoulder and shined it directly into Raven's eyes accidentally. _I never get enough time to read,_ she thought to herself, shielding her eyes from the blinding light.

"My friends, why has our home been enveloped in darkness?" Starfire asked, entering the living room.

"Yeah, I almost fell over the equipment without the light in the training room. What's going on around here?" said Robin also entering the living room.

Cyborg could see something out of the corner of his cybernetic eye. He turned the light on whatever it was. They all stopped to look at Terra who had not even noticed anything and was still dancing. Eyes closed, arms vertical, naval and fine stomach bare for everyone – more specifically Beast Boy – to see. The girl eventually twirled her way into the breakfast table. Then she realized every one was staring at her, shocked. "What'd I do?" she asked, and then started gazing at the ceiling. "And what happened to the light?"

_Blondes… _Raven thought to herself.

"I'm sure the emergency power will come on any minute." Cyborg said

"I'll go check it out." Robin finally said. He simply shook his head and went outside. Walking to the backup generator powerhouse, on the bank of the island, he stepped onto some kind of hard, uneven surface. Looking down, the boy saw a cut edge of something metallic. _Hmm, what's this?_ He reached down, and began to dig whatever it was out of the muck. Robin pulled up a small, octagonal prism. On each side of the prism was a triagonal panel with the edge cut in a different way. The center held a glass-like dome-shaped crystal, which held two curving blades – one of which had its tip reddened as if dipped in blood – held together at the exact middle of the device. On the north, south, east, and west side of the small dome was set a single rune. _It looks like some kind of compass. I better take this inside and have a look at it. The backup power should be on by now. _The sound of an alarm going off interrupted his thoughts. "Guess I was right."

Cyborg burst through one of the doors leading outside the tower to the island. "Yo, Robin, we got a problem."

The young leader began running towards Cyborg's direction. As soon as he and his half-robot friend reached the commons room again, they met with Raven in front of the supercomputer. "What's the situation?"

"There's been a break-in at the museum." She looked at the object in Robin's hand. "What's that?"

"Huh? Oh this, I… I don't know. I just found it in the ground outside. I'm going to look at it later. Right now, we have to worry about the museum. Titans, GO!" And all the Titans sped off their own separate way.

OoOoO

_: Jump City Museum of Archeology:_

"Why couldn't we steal something like jewels, gold, or something with value?" One thief said.

"This is what the Boss told us to get so this is what we're getting." The other replied. The two had managed to use the blackout as an opportunity. The case was too heavy for them to carry so they also stole a wheeled platform in order to get it out of the museum. It was a silver sarcophagus covered in strange runes.

"I guess you're right. Hey, what are you gonna… man I told you this would happen. The Titans are here!"

"Lee, run!"

A flash of red and black streaked in between the thieves and they were knocked to the ground down. Robin leaped into the air and landed directly in front of the now assembled Teen Titans. One of the thieves pulled a small remote out of his pocket, and pushed its small red button. Lee gave a wicked grin. "It's always good to have a little insurance." As if from nowhere thirty, ten-foot-tall robots completely circled the team. Big, hulking, humanoid robots; coated in black and a familiar metallic 'S' symbol drilled into the center of their broad, four-foot wide chests. Robin turned his head and saw the two thieves jumping into, and speeding off in, their van all the way on the other side of the huge parking lot.

The young detective tried to think of how they could have been surrounded so easily. _Cloaking devices_ he concluded. "Cyborg, Raven, Terra, you deal with the thieves. Starfire, Beast Boy, we'll handle these guys! Go!"

Terra geokinetically ripped a huge chunk out of the parking lot concrete she was standing on while Raven summoned a black disc onto which Cyborg jumped on and the three of them soared into the air to complete their assigned task.

Robin ran towards the closest robot and dodged its fist, which slammed into the concrete, by sliding underneath its legs. As the acrobat was sliding, he managed to fire his grappling hook around the mech's foot, and, pulling up while he rose from the ground; he sent the monstrosity falling onto its face. He leaped up into the air, turning downward as he ascended over the robot, and he threw an electric disc squarely into its back. The resulting blast separated its torso from its legs. Robin landed back in a squat in order to tense his legs; he then pivoted on his toes and charged, looking for a new opponent. Leaping onto the back of another opponent and stabbing it in the base of the neck with his birdarang, Robin rebounded off his fallen enemy and punched another Sladebot in the side of the face while in midair, landed, reversed momentum, and slashed it across the midsection. The acrobat leaped in the air and came down with a spinning back kick, crushing the side of another robot's face. The titan leader saw a trio of enemies coming down on him. Bombs of light flew every which way to cause confusion as a fist, gaining speed and power, comes crashing down. Three robotic heads fell to the ground giving off sparks of electricity.

Starfire closed her eyes and stood still as three more robots came charging for her. She cupped her hands and held them about six inches apart, still with her eyes closed. A small ball of green energy appeared exactly between her hands and grew until it was only centimeters from them. The robots continued their charge and were now close. Quickly she opened her glowing emerald eyes, brought down the green sphere to her side, and thrust the energy ball forward, firing a thick beam of plasma straight through all three of her enemies. They collapsed into a heap of steaming, melted, metal. The alien took to the skies and shot barrage after barrage of starbolts, as her enemy was firing red energy disks from the top of its clenched fists. She twirled to her left and shot a spinning bolt like a buzzsaw, blasting the robot's head into scrap-metal.

Beast Boy leaped forward and shape-shifted into a spider, allowing the momentum of the jump to propel him forward. He landed onto the constructs chest and made his way over the lip of the metal plating, inside. Beast Boy scurried through the wires and metal rods until he finally found the Central Processing Unit, a large orb covered almost completely in cables. While inside the machine he morphed into the form of a velociraptor, exploding the construct from the inside out. The green dinosaur charged into one opponent slamming it into the ground with its head, then swiftly spun and whipped its tail into another's chest, forcing it into a light pole, and finally bolted for a third, leaping into it and biting deeply into its shoulder leaving the left arm hanging limply to its side. He returned to his human form and looked around him for any other enemies. After spotting one sneaking up on Starfire from behind, Beast Boy leaped off the side of the museum wall with powerful kangaroo legs and shifted to an armadillo while in midair, slamming a hole straight through the robot's torso. The three Titans regrouped, still surrounded. "Where are they all coming from?" Beast Boy managed to pant out.

"They were already here. Before we even came, Slade probably sent them to make sure that those crooks got away. For whatever reason."

"But why are there so many?" Starfire asked.

"You know Slade" Robin answered, "Overkill."

"There are still fourteen left. And we're surrounded."

"Then we can attack anywhere we want."

OoOoO

The white van zoomed down the streets of Jump City at well past the speed limit. The two thieves were speeding down the wrong lane of traffic just to get ahead of the drivers in front of them, and the three Titans were becoming more and more worried.

"Who taught this guy how to drive, Tony Stewart?" Cyborg shouted above the constant honking and blaring of horns.

"Who cares" Terra shouted back. "We know that they work with Slade, and I'm going to make him pay for what he did to me."

"Two things Terra, one, you went to him. _You_ wanted to control your powers so _you_ left and became _his_ apprentice. And what do you mean 'what he did to you?' Don't you remember what you did to us?"

Terra shot her a disgusted sneer, but then turned her head away. It was true, after all. The Titan of the earth did betray them. But, there was remorse. She learned how to break herself free of the statue prison several months after being transformed, but she did not return to hero work. She even went as far as to fake amnesia when Beast Boy learned of her escape for fear of what her former teammates' reactions would be. But, despite the fear, Terra could not deny that she missed it all. She missed the action, the adventure, the glory, the praise, and the attention. And, most of all, she missed her friends. By the time she confronted them a month after the end of her school year, they were more than happy to welcome her back. It might have been because of the new, more dangerous, enemies they had made with the Doom Patrol; but regardless, Terra was ecstatic to be back.

Raven snapped Terra out of her trance. "But it doesn't matter anymore." The three of them blazed through the city trying to keep up with the fleeing criminals.

Raven felt a sudden surge of energy run through her body and she lost focus of Cyborg's disc, and it disappeared. Quickly, Terra cut off the bottom half of her boulder and sent it Cyborg's way. He just gripped the lip of the rock, but with his incredible strength, and his metallic fingers sinking two inches into the thing, it was enough for him to pull himself onto the flying stone.

"Thanks Terra."

"Don't mention it."

"Raven, what happened?" Cyborg called out.

Hundreds of pictures flashed through the sorceress's mind in that singular moment.

"Raven!"

"I've got an idea." Raven pulled back and explained to her two teammates all that she had seen.

"And don't use your powers to do anything else until we're open." Raven finished, explained to Terra.

"I'm on it."

OoOoO

"Who taught you how to drive Aggie, Tony Stewart?" The white van sped down the road at breakneck speed, the silver coffin sliding closer across the floor.

"Lee, shut up and make yourself useful. Tie that damn thing down."

Lee moved to the back of the van and pulled down the straps built into the vehicle's wall. He began to securing their prize when he saw something in the back of his eye. He crawled over to the back and saw the three Titans trailing behind before one zoomed past to their left and the other flew over their head.

"Aggie…"

"I already told you to shut up. I'm trying to concentrate." A knock came at the driver's window and a smiling Cyborg pointed forward towards the road. Aggie turned to see the blond geomancer in the middle of the road flying backwards on her rock at the same speed as him. She raised her hands as if about to use one of her rock attacks. The thief quickly jerked the vehicle to the right taking a road leading out of the city.

"The boss told us if he doesn't get this thing by tomorrow—"

"I know what he said Lee, but I think he'll make an exception if he knows we ran into the Titans." The Titan trio forced Aggie to make another left, then another right. Soon enough he was into the rural outskirts of Jump City.

OoOoO

"Well this certainly looks familiar." Cyborg said.

"This is where we first met." Terra proclaimed, rather annoyed that he didn't remember.

"Well the plan's worked so far. We lured them out in the open." Raven reminded them.

"And without causing any collateral damage." Cyborg put in with a grin towards Terra.

"Hey!"

"I'm serious. If we got another call from the city council about roadwork needing repairs, I was gonna make you fix them all yourself."

"Oh yeah, real difficult." Terra quipped sarcastically.

"Focus please." Raven reminded them again.

"Right." Cyborg leaped of his rock and slammed hard onto the roof of the car, creating a deep dent in the vehicle as well. Raven shifted to her left as Terra moved likewise to her right, expecting what would happen next based on what Raven told her.

The car slammed on its brakes, trying to throw the teen off. But when he left contact and began to fly forward, he turned himself and landed feet first onto the flying rock Terra had kept moving. The girls blazed past the van and stopped next to their friend. "Terra now!" Raven screamed.

The blonde girl balled her glowing fists by her hips and crossed them over each other as she threw them up. Twin pillars of rock erupted from the ground on both sides of the van, angled so they pinned the driver's and passenger's doors shut.

The two thieves scrambled to the back of the car in hopes of escape, and even managed to get out of it. A black globe surrounded one before he even hit the ground; the other was able to get two steps away before eight thin columns of rock circled him.

"Aw come on, I hardly got to do anything…"

"How about 'nice job Terra'?" Terra lifted her glowing hand further up and a disc, attached to all eight columns, ripped from the ground as well.

"Can you call Robin and tell him we've caught the thieves?" Raven asked, her hand on the black globe.

"Yeah, give me a sec." Cyborg turned and walked away speaking into the video screen on his right forearm.

Raven looked back to the man in the sphere.

"Don't you guys have bigger fish to fry? Why are you wasting your time with us?"

"The police are the ones who're going to ask questions." The gothic girl mentally shook the bubble around a bit to get her message across.

"If you want some time taken off you're sentences, then do this nice and easy," Terra threw in, giving Raven a wink. Cyborg came striding back at that moment.

"I sent Robin our coordinates, and we're going to meet him half-way."

"Well then can you get the luggage?"

"Oh, sure." Cyborg exaggerated the last word to emphasize his sarcasm, before walking back to the car and hauling the sarcophagus on his shoulder. Raven created another black disc for him to take.

He looked at the disc hesitantly then back at Raven. The girl rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Come on." Cyborg looked back at the disc and slowly stepped onto it. The three Titans then sped off into the city towards their rendezvous point.

OoOoO

"Alright. Starfire, Beast Boy, we're going to meet the others about halfway."

"Understood." The orange-skinned alien said, removing a glowing fist from the chest of another robot and looking to Robin with an enormous smile on her face.

"Fine. But I'm flying this time, not running," said the green changeling as he poked his head out from the bottom of a pile of smoking, sparking machines.

OoOoO

A man sat on his steel chair in shadowed silence, chin rested on his folded hands and elbows on his knees, as he watched everything every one of his machines had witnessed. When the last video screen showed a glowing emerald fist coming towards it and became nothing but static, just as the others before it had, the man rose from the iron throne and placed his hands behind his back. "Well, my children, you have all become much stronger," he said in his usual sickeningly calm voice, "Especially you my former reluctant apprentice. You have progressed in leaps and bounds." He walked down the small set of stairs and inspected a replay of the Boy Wonder's prowess with more intent. "But you, and even your friends, are no match for what I have in store. Where I failed in making you and that earthbending wench my apprentice, I will make up for tenfold with my new prey." He rested his black-gloved hand on an ancient wood-bound tome and patted it lightly. "And he will make your efforts look like child's play." The man narrowed his one visible eye into the reflection of his half-bronze mask.

OoOoO

Cyborg walked up to Robin and informed him on what was going on. "Raven and Terra are droppin' off the thieves at the police station. I don't understand why you don't let us interrogate them at the tower."

"Because the police have jurisdiction over us. When they're done with them then we'll get our chance"

"So what do ya wanna do with this guy?" He dropped the metal case down, sitting it up straight.

Robin looked back to the girls, and instead saw the one called Aggie in a black magic bubble, and the other in a stone cage. "We should take it back to the tower." He finally answered. "We'll probably be able to get a better look at it there."

"Don't you think we should wait for the girls?"

Robin thought about it. It would be somewhat awkward just to stand around waiting for them. Moreover, he really wanted to look at this sarcophagus to find what made it so interesting to be worthy of theft.

"Robin?"

"No, I think they can find the way home on their own. Besides, I don't think they would want us to waste time."

"You do what you want to. I'm staying."

Robin began to feel a little uneasy.

"See, ya'll don't need me. Both Starfire and BB are strong enough to carry this thing back to the Tower. Why don't you all go home and relax, and me, Raven, and Terra will be back there to take a look at our new friend with you before you know it. We know this place pretty well too ya know."

It sounded like a good idea. In addition, he didn't want to hurt the girls' feelings by just disappearing. Anyway, Cyborg got along pretty well with Raven, (when he wasn't tempted by Beast Boy to do something stupid) and Terra got along pretty well with everyone. "Alright we'll see you back at the tower. Later."

"See ya Cy-man."

"Goodbye, friend."

He simply waved goodbye. There was no real need for words. He knew they understood.

OoOoO

_: Back at the Tower:_

"So...this is what I carried on my back for five miles!" Beast Boy was venting. "The biggest tin can in history, that can't even be opened!"

"I know... it's strange." Robin explained. "This sarcophagus doesn't look like any other one I've seen. Instead of scepters in the person's hands, there are swords. It isn't gold; it's unscathed silver, free of any blemishes, despite the rough handling by a certain green gorilla." Robin vented, turning to Beast Boy who put his hand behind his head and smiled.

"And…" he continues, "…most puzzling, there's no way to open it. At least, that's what we're still trying to figure out."

"So what are we to do?" Starfire noted as she crossed her arms over her significant chest.

"Well I'll take a look at it in the lab and I'll let all of you know what I find in about an hour. Beast Boy…"

"Yeah?"

"Can you call me on the com-link when the others get here?" Robin had just finished the question when the yellow object began its usual annoying ring.

"They're here."

"Thanks." The leader rolled his eyes under his mask before opening the lid. "Robin here."

"Hey Rob, Raven and Terra are back from the drop-off and we're about a mile away from the tower. Just wanted to check in with you."

"No problem. I'm going to start analyzing the evidence soon, so that's where I'll be when you guys get here. Robin out." He closed the yellow device. And turned to his royal teammate. "Care to give me a hand here Star?"

She replied with a smiling nod and carried the entire sarcophagus like a waitress would a platter of food. The two exited the common room and made their way towards the lab, allowing the door behind them to shut with a _woosh_.

"Hey! What am _I_ supposed to do then?" Beast Boy shouted at the door as he waved his arms over his head.

OoOoO

A/N: What ya think? Read & review. Only update if I get reviews. You know those times when you just have a random spark of genius? Well I had one of those when I was rewriting this first chapter. I got about two pages worth of some good material and my zip drive decided that it was going to die on me spontaneously so its not as good as it was before. I apologize.

P.S. - "Were surrounded." "Then we can attack anywhere we want." not my original quote. Credit goes to Heaven's Forsaken here on . I just felt he deserves his credit. The words are not exact, but it's the concept of the words that he created (or heard from somewhere else). Regardless, it was not original. I am just a huge fan of good quotes.


	2. Garrick

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans, or any products, songs, bands, etc. in this fic. If I did, it would be much easier to make, than to write this story.

A/N: Yo! Wildman75 here, continuing my TT story. So sorry 'bout not updating' for such a long time but, well, I was a little disappointed in myself because I wasn't getting' any reviews. Not to mention the fact that I had football, and all you Jenks Trojans out there knows exactly what that means. Nevertheless, I guess the number of hits I'm getting tells me that some people are, at the very least, interested. Then I remembered what Ookami Soul told me, I wasn't getting' reviews because I was not making my chaps long enough. Thanks a lot. You saved my story. Sorry if the story is a bit hard to understand…. I think a bit more cinematically and am not much of a writer. Anywho… Any, and all, mistakes are my own; flames are welcome, and… enjoy the show!

***

**CHAPTER II: Garrick**

Robin returned from the lab an hour-and-a-half later to find the rest of the Titans just sitting around the living room. He expected them to be in their usual spots, but they were not. Terra was reading a fashion magazine, Raven and Starfire were playing a game of chess. It was obvious Raven was getting frustrated, despite her best efforts to stay calm. Moreover, who wouldn't get antagonized with Starfire constantly asking, "Can I do this?" or "am I victorious _now_?" every other turn.

"Hey, Robin's back!" Beast Boy announced from Terra's side.

"Hey, guys, what's going on?"

"Just waitin' on those lab results. What do you got for us?" Cyborg asked as he finished wiping off what appeared to be crumbs off the table countertop with one hand and sucking off the flavor of whatever he had just finished ingesting with the other.

"Why do all of you want to rush this so badly? Usually I'm the one obsessing and you guys are trying to slow me down." Robin replied trying to turn the conversation elsewhere.

"Hey, you saw those things didn't you? They belonged to Slade! I don't think any of us want to take any chances with _that_ guy back from the dead, even if it's been over a year since the deal with Trigon went down." He looked around the room to see if the others agreed with him, they did, and showed it by nodding their heads.

"Even if he didn't show his face during the Doom Patrol incident." Said Raven.

"Anyways, what were you able to find out from the hieroglyphics?" Cyborg continued.

"Actually, the runes on the coffin's casing are not hieroglyphs, which are Egyptian pictographs, they're cuneiform." Raven corrected. "Ancient Sumerian probably, but they look a little bit different, more curvature. Perhaps a different dialect…"

"Riiight. Well whatever it is, what'd you learn?"

"………" Robin looked towards the ground, as if defeated. He only had that face, when he seemed to disappoint himself.

"Well?" Everyone was looking at him intently, as if he was the only person that could put this whole thing to rest.

"Well actually I uh… wasn't able to… decipher… any of it." There was silence for a moment or two, and then Cyborg was the first to speak up.

"Well why the hell not? Is there a bug in my hard drive? I swear, there better be nothin' wrong wi-"

"No, no, there's nothing wrong with the computer. It's just…" He acted like he knew what he wanted to say but just didn't quite have the vocabulary to say it in the way that would make the most sense. That was something that _never_ happened.

"Robin, may we see the discoveries you have been able to uncover?" Starfire asked as she floated down to the ground beside her leader.

"Sure Starfire. But I don't think it will help." The team left the Commons area through the door Robin had just entered. They made their way down the winding hallway to another large room with computer screen just as big as, if not bigger than, the screen in the Commons. In the center of the room was a circular table that could easily hold three overgrown men, and upon it lied the sarcophagus.

Starfire was floating next to the sarcophagus she had put down not more than two hours ago. The rest of the team huddled around the computer. Robin was in the station typing away, opening window after window until he finally brought up the language file.

"This is where the problem comes up. I scanned the writing on the sarcophagus into the computer, and told it to give us some background information on whatever this thing is. But the cuneiform doesn't match _any _language recorded in the computer database, that's including ancient Sumerian or Assyrian _or_ Acadian." Images of different stone tablets with strange writing chiseled into them and photos of different landscapes from around the world flashed for instances, while at the bottom of the screen the "Scanning…." window was loading. In a manner of seconds, a small label popped up and read 'Unknown Sources.' Robin turned around and looked at his team as he continued to tell them more dissapointing news. "I've tried changing options, settings and research; these markings are nowhere to be found. It's like they're…." and he trailed off there, letting the rest of the team to fill in the gap.

"Raven, maybe you can communicate with whatever is inside?" Starfire asked, raising her head above the metal case as she continued to inspect it. Everyone began to stare at Raven blankly.

"Yeah Raven, can you?" Beast Boy taunted. But he was quickly corrected by a big metal smack upside the head.

"Uhhh…" A dry tone leads everyone to his or her answer. "…I think that's a little outside my calling plan."

"Starfire, I understand you want to help. This whole mess is leaving us all scratching our heads. But we have to slow down, think, and take this one step at a time. Beast Boy, Did you check the exhibit where this thing came from like I asked you?"

"Yeah, just before we left to meet up with the others. It was discovered in the Sinai Peninsula not too long ago. No tomb, gravesite, or anything nearby. There's a military base that just opened not too far away from where it was discovered, and one of the mortars blew a hole in the ground taking away most of the earth. That's when they found it. Based on the amount of soil buildup over time, the archeologists guessed that it was probably sitting there for maybe three thousand years. That's pretty much the only important information I got. They couldn't even find this sucker a name."

"I only ask that we attempt to open and learn what we can together." Starfire begged.

Robin sighed. Sometimes there just was no reasoning with this girl.

"What did you have in mind?" Robin just could not turn down those big, bright, emerald eyes.

A smile swept across the alien girl's face. But it disappeared when she saw Raven's somber one.

"Raven what ever is the matter?" Under all this fuss, no one else seemed to notice Raven staring into space with her head slightly bent down.

"…" She seemed reluctant to speak her thoughts, and that was a little out of the ordinary for the half-demon.

"What's wrong?" Terra pressed apprehensively.

"…maybe this isn't a good idea. I mean, don't you think there might be a reason why whatever is inside was locked up, and why the runes are unable to be translated?"

"That may be true but whatever's in there must be over three thousand-years-old. If there _is_ something in there, it's not any threat to us now." Robin proclaimed assuredly.

"Besides..."

"Oh great, Beast Boy wants to say something." Raven chimed in, rolling her violet eyes.

"… never mind" the green teen said, defeated.

"I think we should vote on it." Cyborg insisted "All for crackin' this baby open?" Immediately four hands went up. Robin, Cyborg, Beast boy, and Starfire.

"Terra, what's the deal? I thought you of all people would appreciate the mystery."

"Well, I'm starting to agree with Raven. Who knows what's really in that thing?"

"Sorry girls but majority rules."

"I still think this is a bad idea…"

"Oh, c'mon Raven," Beast Boy grabbed the case in gorilla form and ran out the door. The team followed him to the Commons after exchanging a variety of different glances to each other. When the rest of the team made it, Beast Boy dropped the coffin on the ground before jabbing a crowbar in the lining between the top and bottom halves of the sarcophagus.

"Careful, Beast Boy! I don't think that's what Starfire had in mind." Robin cautioned.

"Relax fearless leader. Hnnnnnnnnngh……." Beast Boy pushed against the resistance of the casing and almost immediately, the six friends could hear the creak of the instrument bending. "Ah!" The Changling flew forward and hit the ground hard as the crowbar broke in half and metal shrapnel fell to the crimson carpet. Everyone looked at the sarcophagus and its new design jutting out from its side, then at the young green boy sitting up and staring in embarrassment at the broken tool in his hand. "Okay. Maybe the crowbar isn't the way to go."

Cyborg shook his head. But as a new idea popped into his head he gave a small, almost unnoticeable, smirk. He raised his clenched fist and had his Sonic Canon charged and ready. Pointing his most recognized weapon at his target, he set off a trio of concentrated sonic energy. **BLAST! BLAST! BLAST! **Each discharge violently sent the coffin sliding across the floor behind and next to the curving sofa.

"Please, friends, can we not open this containment without destruction? Perhaps the markings are in fact instructions. Possibly if we can somehow learn what they are trying to say -"

"We've been over this already Star! Whatever it says, we can't read it. Unless you wanna kiss the damn thing and see if that works." Cyborg exclaimed, frustrated. Robin shot him an angry look. "But let's say we do try and translate the stupid thing, how do we start?"

"Someone is acting like a Florbag Zemergalt."

Cyborg, all anger now lost to a new feeling, stood there with an incredulous look on his face. Then Beast Boy whispered back to his friend.

"I'm going to assume that's bad."

"Ok, everyone just calm down." Robin looked at the time as it read twelve o' clock. "It's already midnight guys. Let's just hit the sack."

"Yeah, all right. C'mon B, let's go. G'night guys." Cyborg, with the small Changeling quickly running up behind, walked to the doorway.

"Good night Robin, night Raven." Terra waved before she and Starfire left through the same door.

Just before going to his room Robin took the relic he found on the shore out of his utility belt and put it on the kitchen counter.

When he switched the lights switched off, the only person left in the room was Raven. The half-demon sorceress loomed over the shinning silver casing, staring down at it with poignant eyes. "It must be so dark and lonely in there. How could this happen to you? I don't even know why I'm talking to you, I mean, it's not like you can talk back to me," she chuckled aloud to herself. _And yet... _For some reason, beyond her knowledge, a nearly overwhelming feeling of sadness and despair came over her when she looked into the eyes of the metal man on the coffin's case. Raven didn't even know if there was anything remotely humanoid in the stupid thing, but she felt a tug at her spirit; a sad soul seeking peace, seeking comfort.

When she looked into the chiseled eyes of the sarcophagus, she felt a longing simply to hold this internally weeping individual. _God, what's wrong with me? I'm acting like this is the first time I've seen a sarcophagus._ Shaking her head at the absurdity of it all, the girl turned and started for the door, but felt the faultless texture of the casing. She ran her thin fingers across the exterior of the smooth metallic casket and circled around it, never taking her hand from the case. _How could this surface stay so incredibly smooth and… perfect… after all these years? How can it feel smooth at _all_ when it's covered in runes?_ She came to a small octagonal indention on the side. "What's this?" the size of the mark was only palm-sized, and not very deep. It could easily have been overlooked. "Wait…" She recognized this from somewhere. But where? She took a quick glance to the relic Robin left on the table and another quick one back at the casket.

"Maybe…?" She realized that she was contradicting herself by what she was about to do but Raven knew that it wasn't just her emotions drawing those feelings from before, it was her powers. She _sensed_ the feelings of the person inside. As she made her way to the kitchen counter, the half-demon girl reached her hand out to pick up the relic and bring it to the sarcophagus.

Instantly, an incredible searing pain began coursing through the fingers that had touched the object as purple sparks of magical electricity jumped forth and encircled her arm. She dropped the steaming item on the ground and clasped her hand in agony.

The pain started in her fingers and swelled into her palm. The torrid burning felt almost like some kind of sanitization. Pulsing, throbbing soreness began to take its place. She felt something else as well, as if the affected area was somehow empty. In addition, it felt lighter, like a weight had been lifted.

She barely managed to slide one eye open, and she noticed her hand was swelling a bright purple aura. When the throbbing began, the light started to pulse in unison with each beat. The color was getting brighter and continued to throb and glow. If she did not have her eyes closed from the intense sensations earlier, she could have seen that – through the pulsing, purple light – the color of her skin was lightening; the grayness washing away and leaving behind an alabaster cream hue.

Raven tried to concentrate on healing her hand. Blue light started spreading out from the center of her palm. The purple 'aura' that surrounded her hand began to fade, giving way to this new kind of magic, and her original skin tone started to resume its pale gray color. Checking her hand for any damage, the girl gave a great sigh of relief. "Chances are I'm not going near that thing." She glanced back at the item on the ground. _But why was Robin able to hold it without any problems at all and I can't even touch it without burning my hand off?_ A black light surrounded the compass. She used her magic to levitate the box next to the sarcophagus and over the indention on the side. _Well that was much easier_ she thought with a grin.

"Raven, what's going on?" The girl lost her concentration on the object, dropped it into its little socket, and spun to her left. Terra stood there with a glare on her face and her arms crossed.

"Terra, what are you doing up?"

"I came to get a glass of milk to help me sleep. What are you doing up?" she pressed.

"I… wasn't tired" She knew it was lame, but it was the only thing she could think of that made any sense. "Ok, I know I said it was a bad idea to open this thing, but I felt an empathic draw. There is someone still inside, and I think they're alive Terra."

"You heard Beast Boy. They discovered this thing in the Sinai Peninsula, and estimated it to have been sitting there since over three thousand years ago. How could anything survive that long?"

"I can sense dormant magic. If someone was buried inside, their body could still be preserved; especially if the sarcophagus was aired out and then vacuum-sealed. We already know about suspended animation in cryogenics." Raven explained, running her hand down the side of the tomb.

The young geomancer looked shocked then walked beside Raven and began inspecting the coffin with her. "Raven. The markings on the key, do they look the same as the markings on the sarcophagus to you?"

The pale-skinned girl looked more closely and appeared surprised. "Yeah, I didn't see it before, but you're right." Terra placed her hand over the inserted key and gave a small nudge. She felt it go in slightly, and could hear the scraping of metal on metal. The two girls exchanged glances, and then looked back. Just as the geomancer was about to plunge the key deep into the lock, she stopped and slowly pulled her hand back.

"Terra? What's wrong?"

"We should wait 'till morning and everyone's awake. If something bad happens at least then we'll be rested. This could be a huge mistake and we should do this as a team."

"Makes sense. But you sound a little scared to me." she grinned.

"I am scared. I also think it's really weird, a little too weird if you ask me. I mean, who was this person? How do we even know if he was a good guy?"

"I guess you're right. Good thing you're smart, 'cause Beast Boy might–"

"I don't even want to hear the end of that sentence." Terra interrupted with an embarrassed smile and blush on her face. Sharing a laugh, they both stood up and walked back to the automatic sliding doors.

"I still don't see how you could find his green body attractive."

"What did I tell you back in there!" the blonde girl giggled.

"Well, maybe not everything on him is gree–AH!" Raven collapsed on the floor gripping her skull.

_Garrick I'NimOhtar  
Garrick I'megilindir  
Garrick ya one quell termar  
Garrick e'i'morwen ona I'amir  
Garrick kallo'lye  
Garrick coi e'i'eldandor  
Garrick varar tel'sanye  
Garrick meetima ie'esta_

"Raven!" Terra kneeled down beside the cloaked figure.

"Nnnngh!" Raven found herself on her knees, hands grasping her temples. A voice sounded inside her head. That tongue, the same one spoke to her when she took down the thieves. She was now in the midst of a cold sweat, and her breaths came in deep pants.

"Raven, are you okay?"

Raven managed to prop herself onto her hands. Her sweat dripped onto the floor as she steadied her mind and body. "That's not any language that exists here. That's why the markings couldn't be translated."

"What are you talking about?"

"We have to find Robin before something bad happens." Terra helped Raven to her feet before she waved her away insisting that she was now fine, and the both of them made their way towards Robin's room as quickly as they could, Raven levitating while Terra ran behind.

"Raven, what's going on?" Terra demanded.

"Remember that epiphany I had when we were chasing down those guys?" Terra responded with a nod. "Well someone told that plan to me. It must have been whoever is inside that casket so that we would save him. The same thing happened just earlier. I think it was the same voice. We have to hurry, we've got to warn Robin about Garrick!"

Terra stopped dead in her tracks, and watched as Raven sped through the hallway, with a confused look on her face.

"Who the hell is Garrick?" she asked to no one in particular, before she ran to catch back up with her teammate.

OoOoO

The relic left behind was still lodged in the side of the tomb. At least it was before Silkie began worming his way over the casket, and then fell atop the thing. The key sank into the lid and jolts of purple electrical magic zapped. Silkie fell back to the floor and scurried away as fast as his little pads would allow him. The letters all gave off a lavender glow before the sarcophagus let out a hiss and the top slate began to shift and slide open, releasing the vacuum-sealed coffin. Out of the darkness and the dust, a pair of blue eyes slowly opened before a weak voice mutered out, "Manke naa amin?"

OoOoO

Aggie sat against the back of the eight-by-eight cell, looking directly over at Lee. His partner was resting his arms on a small stone ledge and staring out at the night sky through the one barred window.

"You know, we might have made it if you didn't drive like you were in the Talladega 500. We could have delivered the fucking thing to Slade, got our reward, and been on our merry _separate_ ways. But no, you got scared by a bunch of pubescent kids, and drove into a freaking mountain. What the hell man!?" Lee turned around to continue his rant, but stopped short when he walked into the rock-hard chest of a man dressed in an all-black bodysuit and silver metallic plates. The man narrowed his stare down at Lee through his single-eyed half-bronze mask.

"A-A-Aggie… Aggie wake up!" Lee leaned around the man's broad chest to look at his crime-mate. He saw the criminal lying on his side but his head looking at the wall behind him, his neck grotesquely broken almost 180 degrees. Lee looked back to the man who was still leering down at him from a height more than a head above his own. "Don'ttouchme! Ifyoudo, mybossSladewillmakeyouwishyouwereneverborn!" the thief blurted out at nearly impossible speed.

"How kind of you." The man in black said so unenthused it was almost sarcastic. He gripped Lee by the throat and held him above his own head with ease as the smaller man raked at his hand to loosen the grip. "But flattering me won't get you out of this." With a fierce jerk, the smaller criminal was thrown into the side of the stone wall of the cell.

Lee looked up slowly. It hurt to move. He knew that he felt something in his neck or shoulder break.

"You see…" the man in black continued as pulled out a metal staff and impaled it into the concrete floor, at an angle, with relative ease. After he twisted the handle, a small spike sprang from the tip of the polearm; transforming it into a spear. "… this is why when you work for someone, you should meet them face-to-face." He walked over to the injured man and pulled him up by the hair until their eyes were level as he spoke. "That way when you waste their time…" the man lashed out an elbow at frightening speed into Lee's cheek. "…their resources…" he bashed the back of Lee's head against the side of the cement wall. "…and their energy…" the man hurled the barely-conscious man across the room. He only turned around after he heard a crunch from across the cell. "…you know if you are going to get the shaft." The masked man continued talking as if the limp body of his former employee hanging off the spear was still listening. "A parcel as delicate as that is not something you can simply pick up and deliver for an anonymous employer."

The two men had first heard of Slade when he controlled the city with the help of some blonde girl. They had never seen the man but, with the help of a 'friend-of-a-friend', they received a simple transporting job. They got directions to the pick-up and drop-off points and headed off, not knowing it wouldn't quite be the job they expected.

Slade walked over to the body and pulled the pole out from the thief's spinal column and sternum before he turned around and silently swaggered to the barred window, looking up into the starred heavens. "It matters not. My young friend, if you come into this world by their hands or mine. Because all roads lead to my doorstep."

OoOoO

A/N: So, that is the end of this chapter. I know, I know, it sucks, right? Well this is my first fic; I am a much more visual expresser. I love cliffys. So Review! plzplzplzplz give reviews.

P.S.- This story takes place after all the seasons, and as told before, Terra had learned a technique in which to free herself (Also, I just wanted her in the story 'cause she's one of my favorite characters.) If the story is down the drain, then I'm sorry. Just bear with me or leave, your choice.


	3. The Imprisoned One

A/N: I have been getting better so I hope you all enjoy this chapter. The hardest part of this story was introducing the new character, and there were so many possibilities but only so many that really worked with the story. Only 1 review so far, but 160 hits are just as good. But please review.

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans. Nor any products…. Etc. (You know the drill) However, I do own Garrick, so hands off! (Except for the ladies… I'm so lonely)

**CHAPTER III: The Imprisoned One**

_I cannot rest, the anxiety of our new discovery has me most unsettled, _Starfire thought as she floated down the hallway. If there is no other way to open this device than by destroying it, then it shall be done. And Robin will be most pleased. She held her clasped hands next to her face, emphasizing the enjoyment of her thought.

"Hey! Starfire!"

"Oh, hello Raven, Terra!" Starfire said as she softly landed on the round.

"Hey." Terra waved, before dropping her hands to her knees trying to catch her breath

"Listen: We need to talk with Robin. Do you know where he is?"

"Yes. I witnessed him enter his quarters not long ago."

"How long ago?" the geomancer asked between pants.

"Only ten minutes …why do you ask?"

Without a word, Raven levitated herself swiftly down the corridor while Terra grunted before she ran to keep up the frantic pace.

OoOoO

The tall warrior glanced all around him. He was confused, but remained stoic. He sat up, stretching his long unused muscles. He felt the pain, but did not register it, as he was taught to ignore such distractions. Grabbing the lip of his opened tomb, he pulled himself up to his feet with only a slight trembling in his step. He could nearly hear his joints creak and pop. Shaking off the stiffness, he leaped into the air, landed onto the container's rim with his hands, and pushing off, seemed to hover in the air as he hit the peak of his altitude for just long enough to move himself forward and land noiselessly onto the ground, sticking the landing flawlessly. Stretching loose his idle body, he observed his surroundings and started becoming worried. "Manke naa amin? Sina ilnaa Arvandor. Mankoi naa amin au' no'Arda?" Backing himself up, the warrior walked into the sofa. The second his heel bumped against it, reflexes brought him into a crouched fighting stance as he reached to his hips. But shock struck him, as he saw what was notthere. He frantically began running his hands along his body, as if searching for something. "Megilieamin! Manke naa megilieamin?" He began to scan the room, and his eyes fell upon the very thing that had entrapped him. "Mani manka…." he whispered to himself, making his way back to the silver sarcophagus. He could hear muffled voices behind the door in front of him _Ta naa quelinin ten'amin nurt._

OoOoO

"Robin, Robin I have to talk to you!" Raven banged on his door. "Robin dammit where are you?"

_Craban… Morwen…_ a voice whispered piercingly in her head.

"Nnngh! My head." Raven fell to her knees before her leader's portal grasping the sides of her head; her eyes squeezed tight in an attempt to shut out the internal throbbing.

"Raven!" Terra ran up beside her friend and tried to help her up, lifting the dark girl's arm and placing it around her own neck.

"Raven, are you alright?" It was Robin. The Boy Wonder opened his door to see what was going on.

"Ugh!" The pain in her head had again brought her to her knees, this time, grasping her entire head with one hand. The pain was settling in, and getting worse.

"Terra, What happened?"

"I don't know. We were trying to find you and all of a sudden she just collapsed."

"Raven, you need a doctor." Concern and fear that he almost never showed wove into his words. He lifted her other arm and placed it around his neck as well and the three of them started making their way into his room.

"No, I… I just need to some time to heal. And watch your hand there bud before I call Starfire back here."

"Sorry," he said not really worried. Robin was trying hard to keep his other supporting arm around her waist. But with the way she was slumping, it would occasionally slip up her ribs to a more sensitive area.

"At least sit down." Terra begged. The pair sat her down on Robin's bed.

"I'm going to get you some medicine…" Robin left for the bathroom with the two girls sitting together on his bed. The migraines had slowly begun to subside.

The sorceress looked at her surroundings. _He better hurry back, I feel like something is coming. That didn't feel normal. _Raven couldn't help but internally laugh at that word. As if anything in her life was normal. Running her eyes across the room, she saw a shining briefcase with Robin's 'R' emblem stuck onto it. Again this made her smile. Robin's sliding closet with his many uniforms and masks was open, and she remembered the time when she, Starfire, Cyborg and Beast Boy had all dressed up and pretended to be their leader for the day. Terra was MIA at the time. _Wow, so many good times. It seems like we've been together forever._

"Raven, you had something to tell me?" Robin returned quickly with a small orange bottle. He tossed it to her and she took the top off as she opened her mouth to respond. But before she could get a word out her body was hurled violently skyward, dropping the pills to scatter over the ground. Her body hovered in the air as purple light burst forth from her figure and dark violet flame burned from her eyes. The entire room vibrated with a deep resonant hum.

"Raven!" Robin and Terra both screamed for their friend. Robin turned to the geomancer, "What's going on? You said you needed to talked to me and then this happens. If you know something tell me." But Terra just stood there, frozen, and stared at her friend with wide eyes.

"Terra!"

_The wheels of prophecy e'er turn. The Paladin of Ao's true face hath come. Crossroads of past, present, and future. The one foreseen, the one foretold._ With every word she spoke, purple light shone from her mouth.

Robin ran towards his illuminated friend and reached for her ankle in an attempt to pull her down. But as he touched her form, he recoiled back. A stinging burn passed through his hand. He threw his green glove to the ground in an attempt to stop the sensation, and the clothing burned from finger to hem like a newspaper in a campfire. The white ember ate away at the glove as Robin turned back to Raven to analyze what he could do.

_That which hath past is ne'er truly gone. History repeats, though mortals choose not to see. War and bloodshed be not new to the Realms. A god that once hath been may be once again._ Her body no longer simply hovered, it stood straight up as it floated off the ground. She faced her two friends but seemed more to stare off into space then look directly at them as she spoke. A blast of strong wind exploded from Raven's direction only adding more chaos to the situation, and making things more difficult to hear.

Terra began to melt slowly out of her trance. As tears began to slowly trail out the corners of her eyes from the lack of blinking away the light, she began to recover the feeling in her extremities. When she could wipe away at the wetness, Terra ran to her friend. She almost reached her when Robin's quick hands pulled her back away and wrapped around her tight form.

"What are you doing?" The girl yelled out.

"Don't touch her!" He replied, motioning to his nearly dissolved gauntlet. Robin let go of her and she only took one more step towards her friend.

"Raven..." She whispered as she continued to watch the girl.

_The servant of spiders burns within. The rivers froth with tainted blood. The corpses of those born not innocent, feed the inferno of burning hate._

"What is she talking about?" Terra yelled.

"I thought you could tell me." The two shot back to Raven as another verse began.

_The demon's servant decieved, eight of one led down a false path. A hidden light glows in the darkness. The servant of hate knows death and destruction. The face of an ally yet to choose a path._

"Me? You know more about this demon shit than I do." She wasn't mad, just shocked by everything she was taking in. Terra never even took her eyes off her glowing teammate as she replied.

"That's really not saying much though." Robin replied softly, not looking away from the spectacle as well.

_The child of shadows brings chaos to the lands. Its light feeds its black flame. Evil and purity walk together. But a river of tainted blood doth not cleanse._

"I don't understand. Raven's prophecy is over. So what the hell is going on?" The wind gained even more strength and Robin's cape buffeted violently. Terra's long blonde hair flew so hard, it blew her goggles off as well. They turned their faces and covered their eyes as the gust continued with strengthening light. Robin's uniforms, masks, papers, all loose objects soared around the room and the sliding closet door vibrated loudly. Raven's cloak slapped around with such intensity it sounded as if it would rip right off her back.

_The storm approaches. We speak…no… more._ The light began to fade and the indoor gale calmed down as Raven still hung in the air, the purple fire engulfing her eyes dying down. Robin and Terra peered back to their friend and saw her calm. Raven still hung in the air as the light dimmed and the storm died. When everything had calmed, she began her descent into Terra and Robin's waiting arms.

"Raven?" Terra asked tapping her cheek. "Raven wake up. Come on." The gothic girl moaned a little before finally opening her eyes.

"Robin, dammit where are you...?" She groaned out.

"I'm right here Raven. Are you ok?"

"I feel tired, but... I think I'll pull through." She sat up on her own. For some strange reason, the lingering feeling in her head that she had since being shocked and the migraines themselves were completely gone now, as if something had cleaned out her head.

"Raven do you even remember what happened just now?" Robin asked.

Raven thought back. The memory started faint but became stronger and clearer quickly. "Yeah. I felt something come over me. Then it just took over. Like when you get sick and you finally throw up, your body just convulses on its own and you can't stop trying to heave, even when there's nothing left in your stomach." She quickly covered her mouth, not really paying attention to what she was saying as she was saying it.

"Okay, I guess I understand." Terra replied tentatively.

"Anyways, the words just flowed out and I couldn't control them. I couldn't even think my own thoughts. It was like I was just a..." Raven couldn't really find the word she needed. "A... conductor, or a conduit. A doll." Raven stood up shaky, but strong. "I'm alright now." She levitated a few of Robin's loose objects from the floor and twirled them in a circuit before letting them fall to the floor. "At least I got my powers back under control."

"Well what caused that to happen? And what did you want to see me for in the first place?" Robin asked, grabbing another glove from his closet and sliding it on.

"You mean Terra didn't tell you?"

"I was a little busy." The blonde defended as she picked her luckily unharmed goggles from the floor.

Raven turned back to Robin to answer when all three of the Titans' communicators started flashing red.

OoOoO

The figure worked quickly; leaning into the sarcophagus, he saw his treasures. An impressive arsenal of bladed weaponry neatly placed and strapped along the inner walls of the construct. He grabbed a longsword, a thin scimitar, and three daggers. He started off, but glanced back when his eyes chanced upon something else, something very precious to him. He reached in, and lifted the object to his face: a golden gauntlet that fit perfectly over his wrist. A sapphire, cut into the shape of a crescent moon and set into a topaz shaped like the sun adorned the metallic wristband. The jeweled sun was surrounded by a circle of seven star-cut diamonds. He placed the object onto his right wrist and snapped it shut. "Luume'nurt."

The voices were getting closer.

OoOoO

Starfire made her way to the living room. When the doors flew open with a 'ZHOOM', she started to inspect her surroundings. "Now where is that – oh, X'hal." She could not believe it. "The artifact, it has been opened." She ran over to the sarcophagus and examined it, quite hurriedly. The doors closed and caught her by surprise. She turned around and readied her starbolts. Then a sound came as if something had fallen behind the sofa. Quickly and quietly, she felt around for her communicator. When she found it, she pushed her silent alarm button. Why am I so afraid? I should not be so. I am Tameranean royalty and a Teen Titan. I do not run from battle. However, that was before she felt the cool press of metal against her neck.

OoOoO

The warrior would have found a more suitable hiding place had time not been a factor, but there was just enough darkness behind the sarcophagus to get the job done. Keeping an eye out for whoever was coming, but still remaining hidden in the shadows, the warrior waited for his time. Meanwhile, the voices were getting closer. "Listen: we need to talk to Robin. Do you know where he is?" one voice said, it sounded like a girl: hurried, and a little bit scared.

"Yes, I witnessed him enter his quarters not long ago. Why do you ask?" the other replied, it too was a girl but more curious, with not complete hold on the language.

"How long ago?" a third voice asked. This again was female; she had shorter gaps between her words than the other two, so she was probably tired or exhausted. But, her voice was somewhat more melodic than the others.

"Only ten minutes… why do you ask?" Then he heard the sound of running going in the opposite direction.

Biding his time, he listened as the footsteps of one of the girls came closer and closer to the door. 'ZHOOM'. He took his chances, and peered over his cover to see his intruder; a girl, between fourteen and sixteen years of age, long, straight, dark red hair, and… orange skin?

He was lucky. She had her eyes closed and didn't see him. He dipped back into the shadows and kept listening. "Now where is that – oh, X'hal. The artifact, it has been opened!" Her footsteps got louder and faster, she must be running this way. A few seconds later, he saw the doors close in the reflection of the windows. They surprised her and she spun around. He seized his opportunity; he planted a grip on the back of the furniture, threw his legs up and over letting go of the couch, landed and drew out the straight sword and thin scimitar; all without making a single note. This is it. He didn't want to start things off with death, but it was clear she was hostile. He took a deep breath, trying his best not to regret his next action. Like lightning, he crossed his swords across the girl's throat with the flat of the blades, but hesitating. Maybe he did not have to kill her. "Ya naa lle? Manke naa amin?" He just hoped he understood her.

"I do not understand." _Robin, where are you?_

He saw tears begin to well up. How could he be doing this? He doesn't even know what happened and the first thing he does is scare this girl to death? The warrior lowered his blades to the flat of her chest and the girl turned her head slightly to look at him vaguely confused.

Suddenly the door fell in and five more strangely clothed young adults charged into the room led by a boy with spiky black hair.

"Let go of her, NOW!"

OoOoO

"Robin! I really need to talk to you!"

"Yeah! This is extremely important!" The blonde girl reiterated.

"We will talk, trust me! After what happened, we've got more than enough to talk about I promise! But right now we have to get to Starfire!" The three of them were traveling back down the hallway towards the Commons Room where the signal originated. "Robin to Cyborg, Starfire's signal is coming from the Common Room. Get down here now."

"I'm already on my way."

"Robin to Beast Boy, wake up!"

"I didn't do it!" Beast Boy shouted springing up from his bed before falling over. "Huh? What? What's goin' on?"

"Starfire's in trouble, her silent alarm was triggered and its signal is coming from the Living Room, get down there as fast as you can."

"I'm on it."

The Titans' leader closed his communicator and the two of them raced down to the Common. Cyborg joined them from the left corridor in a matter of seconds, Beast Boy from the right.

"Whoever or whatever it is that's got Starfire picked a real bad time to wake up."

"It doesn't matter, they're going to deal with us Cyborg. Rrrrrraaagh!" leaping up with a spinning back kick, he sent the door careening. Right next to an empty sarcophagus was Starfire, with two blades crossed over her chest and tears in her eyes. "Let go of her, NOW!"

"Robin!"

OoOoO

"Let go of her, NOW!"

"Robin!"

The attacker withdrew his weapons quickly and broke a dead sprint towards the window. Robin quickly threw his birdarang as Cyborg shot off his sonic cannon. Beast Boy, Terra, and Raven all helped Starfire get out of the line of fire to safety. The warrior, seeing his attackers' reflection in the window, stepped up, allowing his speed to add up his momentum, and spinning, sent the projectile spinning away with his scimitar, then skillfully ducked low, almost kissing the ground, allowing the blue beam of sonic energy to break the window for him. Then, he leaped through the broken hole.

As he fell, he drove his swords into the tower walls in order to slow down his decent, sending sparks flying. Robin ran up to the shattered glass and hurled a barrage of birdarangs. Reacting quickly, the armored fighter sheathed his scimitar on his right hip, grabbed his own missile weapons, and threw his three daggers to intercept three of his opponent's projectile weapons. But four more were coming his way still.

Barely pushing off the walls with his toes and maneuvering as well as he could while falling, he batted away two projectiles with the scimitar in one sweep, and dodged one just barely but with enough inertia to bring about his longsword and parry the last missile. The intruder rebounded off the wall of the tower and into a grouping of trees, hoping to better approach the coming ground. He sat there squatting on the enormous tree branch catching his breath and analyzing the situation for a while.

OoOoO

Robin turned back to his team and shouted, "Cyborg, Terra, obstacle course, NOW!" The three of them made their way down the tower. Raven turned to Starfire next to her and cupped her cheeks in her hands. "Are you okay? Did he hurt you?" Starfire replied with an empty stare, and it was obvious she didn't hear her friend because she was too lost in thought. Raven searched her body over looking for cuts or signs of swelling - any blunt damage done wouldn't show any bruising by this time - but found nothing, not a scratch.

OoOoO

The intruder was surprised by how quickly his three pursuers exited the huge building and the fervor with which they ran towards him with. The boy, apparently fourteen or fifteen years old, stood beside a blond girl who appeared the same age, and behind the two of them stood an enormous, dark-skinned, young man, with nearly his entire body covered in metal, that must have been at least seventeen years of age. The girl cupped her hands and they began to glow. When she raised them, a large boulder erupted from the ground and launched at the tree where he was. The tree broke in half but as it descended, the intended target managed to leap to another tree, rebound off its trunk, and cushion his fall to the earth with a forward roll before setting himself up. The tree however, crashed directly into the control panel for the obstacle course that Cyborg headed for. The boy in red pulled out two more of the strange bird-like weapons and clapped them together, immediately a large double-edged sword erupted from the crimson hilt.

Terra slammed the palms of her glowing and gloved hands onto the ground sending an underground shockwave that dashed straight to the invader. Using her manipulative capabilities, she crushed the earth beneath his feet, creating a pit of sand in hopes of sinking him into the ground before re-solidifying it and trapping him in the dirt. However, he quick-stepped to his right and – pushing his feet off a large rock – leaped forward, and landed in another onward roll. When he felt a disturbance in the ground beneath him, he came out of his roll reversing his inertia, and back-stepped five feet just in time to dodge a pillar of earth erupt from the ground. The second he regained his balance he saw the boy from earlier charging toward him, in response he brought up his weapons.

Robin brought his blade down with both hands. His opponent brought his longsword horizontally, above his head as he crouched, to block. This left the young Titan's ribs completely exposed and both fighters knew it. The armored boy brought about his scimitar, and his opponent quickly responded. Pulling himself out of the fight, the red clothed leader forced his enemy to miss his exposed side. The armored figure breathed as if to say something, but a swinging yellow blade cut him off before he could utter a word.

Cyborg was on one knee with his left hand steadying his cannon in an attempt to get a clear shot. But there was none. The two combatants were too close together for the teen to get a shot off cleanly without hurting his leader. The only time he could was when the armored figure would leap away from an attack that was too close. But even then, Robin would close in the gap in a matter of split seconds. "Robin move! I can't get a clear shot!" Cyborg shouted just be fore he saw a streak of yellow and black rush before him.

"I can!" Terra leaped onto the same boulder the invader had previously used in his display of acrobatics. The young blond brought her glowing fists above her head and smashed them against the stone, breaking the boulder into tens of rocks which she sent flying towards the armored form; trusting her companion would be able to get out of combat before the missiles reached their target.

Cyborg could only absently blink at the girl's audacity. _Girl's got skills._

OoOoO

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Beast Boy asked looking down through the window as the fight began.

"Our friends, yeah. But that guy I'm not so sure." Raven replied with the alien princess hugging onto her neck and shoulders, trembling. _What in the hell is wrong with me? I can't believe what I picked up from this guy and how different he's behaving._

"We should help them!" The green boy started toward the broken glass, but stopped when he felt a firm grip on his sleeve.

"No Beast Boy. We need to stay up here and protect Starfire in case he comes after her again."

"But-"

"No! I don't know if I can handle this guy by myself if he comes back, I'll need your help. Starfire needs your help."

"Raven, I can't stand here and just watch this going on!" He exclaimed waving his hands to the carnage outside. The two Titans felt the tower rumble as an enormous tree collapsed onto the obstacle course's control panel.

"I know it's hard to stand by and do nothing Beast Boy, but we have a job to do right now. Do you think Robin would want us to leave Star all alone?"

"No, but still-"

"But nothing! Now come on." The pale girl lifted the alien princess and levitated herself to Sarfire's room with the Changeling not far behind.

OoOoO

Robin saw the attack coming through his peripherals and back-flipped just at the last second. Unfortunately, so did the other boy. Quickly back stepping, he angled his retreat and turned his back behind another tree so that the plant intercepted the blond-haired girl's stone barrage. He only realized that put him in Cyborg's line of fire when the teen pointed his weapon at him.

"Booyah." The large metal man whispered to himself.

The boy braced himself, it seemed, and brought up one of his hands before him. Suddenly, a thin line of what looked like purple flame limned it and the boy had a look in his eye as if he were prepared for anything. "Lamya Bela"

As Cyborg fired, the boy slapped away the beam of energy with a purple open-palmed thrust to the side; if only he saw where he re-directed the energy. It crashed into the trunk of a tall, but thin, sapling, blasting it in half.

A high-pitched scream came from the side. He looked and saw the wood begin its descent above the girl. With all of his strength, he hurled his scimitar, its razor-edged blade piercing through the wood easily and pinning it back against the giant tower. The girl looked back at him, her mouth agape. But he did not return her gaze as he heard another cry descending upon him. While he was distracted, the red-clad boy had soared into the air with his blade in both his hands and quickly closed the distance between them. But not before the intruder extended a blade of his own from the golden gauntlet upon his wrist.

The Titan leader crashed atop the intruder, who brought the bladed gauntlet up to block the oncoming attack. The armored figure angled his blade so the opponent's longer weapon slid down his shorter one, and into the ground. When it did, Robin traced his weapon back up along the boy's arm. The new boy, quickly turning his head to the side and then ducking down, dodged under the attack. But the sword was still trailing up his arm and that arm, now out wide to the side, bringing the opposing weapon with it, leaving Robin's right side completely open. The figure reversed his grip on the longsword and punched out hard into the leader's ribcage before he had a chance to block. The breath blasting forth from out of Robin's body sprayed forth a cone of saliva. Robin laid there on his side for a few seconds, rapidly trying to regain the air he lost from his right lung.

The intruder looked down at his enemy. This boy is relentless. And in his rage, his attacks were too direct and unpredictable. If he wanted any chance to fight back, he needed to get some distance and use his agility to his advantage. Rolling to his side, he picked up two of his three daggers and tucked them away. As he stood up, he saw the black-haired and masked boy make his way up and bring his weapon straight down with unusual speed. But the armored boy crossed both his blades up before him to block just as quick, the yellow sword stuck between the other sword and the gauntlet-blade crossed in an 'X' shape. But he had to quickly duck his head to the side and then again and again. Right, left, right, left, backwards, left, right; the red-clothed boy stopped his downward push and, with his sword's tip close to his opponent's face, began to quickly stab and jab the weapon in quick succession. Forcing the yellow sword up high with his gauntlet-blade, the armored form spun to his right and behind the smaller boy, punching out into the boys back.

But the Titan leader then spun to his right and, sucking in his gut and quick-stepping backwards, narrowly avoided the attack. If this skilled fighter had reversed the grip on his weapon as he spun, the blade would have pointed toward him as he tried to dodge, and he surely would have had his stomach sliced wide open. Robin's enemy continued his momentum and spun in place, throwing a sweeping kick to his feet as he did so. Robin easily enough jumped over the attack, but as he was descending, the other combatant once again continued his spinning. As the Titan leader touched down, the once imprisoned warrior stopped his circuit, punched out, and connected with Robin's shoulder at the very second the young detective landed. The unknown assailant performed a leap into the air to escape.

"I got 'em Robin," shouted out Cyborg readying his smaller missiles, which had ejected from different parts of his body, and taking aim with his cybernetic eye.

Robin didn't hear him. All he could hear in his head was the sight of Starfire with a pair of sharpened blades at her neck and her body trembling. He only saw the figure leap away and, thinking him vulnerable in the air, launched a single smoke explosive; he was too low on birdarangs and left his electric disks inside. But the enemy grabbed the item, turned in midair, and threw the small round object towards Cyborg. He also threw one of his retrieved daggers, splitting the device just as the mechanical teen launched his attack.

A hiss of smoke combined with the boom of exploding missiles rang out.

"Robin I can't see" Terra's voice came. Robin squinted through the haze to see the silhouette of the geomancer. Running to her, he grabbed her by her thin arms and pulled her out of the dark cloud. Her eyes squeezed shut, fumbling to pull down her goggles in an attempt to prevent the smoke and dirt from getting in them. The girl then mentally commanded six medium-sized stones to form into a circle before her and spin in one large high-speed circuit, creating a fan to blow away the shroud. But when the smoke cleared, the armored figure was gone.

Cyborg was standing next to the tree, staring at the thing straddling his precious technology, organic eye welling up to the size of a dinner plate.

"We're gonna be practicin' inside for a while huh?" he asked.

"Are you okay?" Robin asked Terra. When she gave him an exhausted nod after sitting down, he too leaned back against the Tower and continued panting. He used up too much energy this fight.

But his rest was short lived as he snapped back to attention. "Starfire!" he realized he left her with Raven and Beast Boy.

OoOoO

Raven sat down next to Starfire with her arm over the frightened alien's shoulder, the both of them leaning against the side of the princess's bed. Thinking back over the events of the past day, the half-demon silently cursed herself for bringing this upon her friends. Terra was with her at the time of the incident as well, but her actions were reluctant at most. She didn't need to share blame with the blonde girl. She had to persuade Terra just to go along with her actions. Why in the hell did her powers have to go off and insinuate what they did? Am I going crazy?

Raven felt her friend begin to tremble slightly. "Beast Boy, grab Starfire a blanket would you?"

"Sure thing Rae." The green boy left to take a thin comforter from the circular bed and draped it over the shoulders of the tanned girl. "There ya go Star…," he said softly and with a smile. She replied with a smile, not as strong or warm as her usual ones, but the best she could manage.

How could this happen? Raven thought. I know I did what I thought was right, but now the rest of my friends are suffering for it. She got up from Starfire's side and walked before her window, watching the fight continue. The fact that she couldn't be out there trying to correct her mistake only added to her anger, and she clenched her jaw and fists tightly to keep her powers from going haywire. This isn't what I wanted!

**Then what did you want?** her demonic soul antagonized.

She was now clenching her teeth so hard it felt like they would crack under the pressure and tiny streams of blood were now slowly streaming out of her still clenched fists. She saw a cloud of smoke erupt and the armored figure retreating into the trees around the tower at an alarming speed. _Fuck this!_ she mentally shouted to herself as her eyes darkened and she began sinking into the floor.

OoOoO

The boy raced through the tees of the island looking for an escape route, not realizing until it was too late that it was an island. He stopped and hid behind a tree. He panted fiercely as his heart pounded none the slower. It had been a long time since he had fought like this, and his body wasn't reacting the way it once had. Perhaps with some more time he could recuperate and regain his old stamina. But with his body being inactive for so long, it was like running a marathon straight out of bed.

"_Don't think that you can hide from __me__._" The form of a blue-cloaked girl, fifteen to sixteen years of age, with a grey pallor to her skin, emerged from a black portal in the ground that disappeared as quickly as it came.

The fighter dropped into his stance, weight balanced between the balls of his feet and his toes. Now his limbs burned, and felt weighed down as if by stones. He didn't know how much longer he could last with his muscles beginning to disobey him.

The pale girl's eyes were darkened black, not simply the irises but the organs themselves. She raised her arms forward as she spoke. "_I brought you to this world. And like I told my father, it's time to send you back where you belong_!" Her voice sounded watery, altered. She snapped her hands open from their previous fists, flicking specks of her blood into the boy's face.

In his exhaustion, the boy could not move to avoid quickly enough and was surprised when the warm liquid hit his face. But he brought his attention back to the girl as she sprouted black tendrils from the side of her arms, tearing through her black leotard that lunged for the boy. He dodged the two by sidestepping to his left, but as he tried to do so again, two more blasted through the palms of her hands and wrapped around his ankles.

Another pair of tentacles slithered out of each forearm around his arms as he tried to cut the things to free himself. He struggled as much as his body would allow him to, but his body was still too weak, and his spirits dashed away as he witnessed one more pair of the serpentine limbs tear out her wrists and another out of her upper chest, wrapping themselves around his wrists and neck. Then they began to squeeze. The tendrils around his ribs tried to push the air in his lungs out, while the ones around his neck would only allow so much to escape. Now the air was building up in his upper chest.

His body convulsed into survival mode, that state of mind where your body has a mind of its own and literally struggles to remain alive, as if moving fast enough could belay its end. That claustrophobic state of mind where you go crazy and your body flails like a fish out of water. As he glanced into the eyes of his captor, he saw small orange-red embers burning deep within the abyss of her black eyes.

Then the boy did what very few living things can do when they reach the point of a near-death mental breakdown. He calmed himself. He realized that the things that were killing him were simply solid shadows given form. And when it came to shadows, none could use them better than he. Snapping his now-red irises open, his form began to melt into the slithering things.

The girl dropped to the ground as a feeling of weightlessness ran through her. A feeling of free falling or looking up to the top of a building that is very, very tall.

But when the feeling passed and the extensions of her soul withdrew back into her body, leaving bleeding holes, she realized that the boy had again escaped. She didn't know how, but knew she didn't have long to think about it. If she didn't get to healing the holes in her wrists, they would eventually bleed her to death.

Standing up, Raven held each wrist in the opposite hand as they glowed light blue. With her cloak now fully hiding her hands and bleeding limbs, she walked back to the Tower.

Back at the Tower, Beast Boy stood next to Starfire. The young alien girl wrapped the blanket around herself. "Starfire!" She turned, and saw Robin, Cyborg, and Terra entering the room. "Robin!" Her green eyes sparkled at seeing her leader and new boyfriend since Tokyo. They embraced and locked eyes with each other.

"Are you okay? Did he hurt you? What happened?"

"Robin I am alright, only … unnerved. I did not see or even hear the intruder. And everything moved so fast…" She was increasing the speed of her speech, proving to the young detective that she was indeed deeply disturbed. "They talked to me in a foreign speech, but seemed to understand every word of what I said. I was completely at their mercy and, they still let me go when they saw my weakness, even though they could have so easily destroyed me. I have thought much over the present and I do not think this is a bad person." The expressions on her teammate's faces showed her that they didn't know what to think at this point.

"He is still a threat. He may have shown you mercy or he may have just known we were coming and ran away. Either way, we have to find him."

The green Changeling stepped into the conversation. "Umm dudes…In case we don't find this guy can I keep the swords?" Once again, because of uncertainty of how to react to some social situations, he jested. It was either that or a poor attempt at levity, and Terra reminded him with a smack upside the head.

But it rung a different bell in his leader's head. "Swords?" Robin questioned. He looked into the sarcophagus Beast Boy (now rubbing his scalp and receiving cold glares) was standing beside. Daggers, swords, a bow, a large axe, a small mobile arsenal of old-style weaponry, all inside the very artifact they rescued from back alley thieves.

"Robin." A dark figure walked in from the hallway.

"What is it Raven?" The Titan leader wondered where she had been when he entered the room at first. He hadn't told her to come fight with him, so he just assumed she would be with Starfire.

"This is what I was trying to tell you. I tried to open the sarcophagus, but it was magically warded against me. Afterwards I was hearing voices in my head, the same voices that spoke to me as we tracked down the thing from those two crooks. I knew it couldn't mean something good but I –"

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner!?" Everyone was taken back, and they watched the scene unfold with a newfound interest. "Starfire nearly died!" He was yelling in her face now and could see wrinkles of exhaustion creeping under her eyes, though for what reason he could not purpose.

"Robin I told you I am fine. There is no need to yell at Raven I am sure she did all she could." He calmed down hearing this, though the eyes behind his mask never left the ground.

Backing away from the other girl, he collapsed against the wall of the Alien girl's room "I'm sorry," he sighed out as he buried his face into his arms. He felt like a failure. Like he failed to protect the girl he claimed to love when she needed him, and failed to bring the perpetrator to justice. And, his rage spent for the night only leaving one alternative feeling, his eyes began to wet under his mask.

But one particular Titan easily caught onto this and subtly changed the subject.

Walking over to her leader, she crouched down and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "It's ok." She then stood and turned to the others. "I think the smart thing to do would be to get some rest."

Robin didn't like the idea of sleeping after what had just happened over the last few hours but knew that without it, and his mind in its current agitated state, his chances of messing something up would definitely increase. He agreed with a nod.

Robin's communicator began to beep, and he reached down to pick it up. "Ah, damn it." He flipped the lid open and scanned the text he had received. And his expression turned grim.

"Robin, what's wrong?" Starfire asked, floating over to her leader and gripping his hands.

"Yeah, man what is it?" Cyborg reinforced.

"It's a police report. Lee and Aggie, the two thieves we arrested earlier tonight... they're dead. After they're incarceration to begin the investigation, one of the guards came to their cell to give them they're phone call and..."

"What?" Beast Boy asked.

"Aggie's neck was broken. And he was the lucky one. Lee's left cheek was shattered as well as the back of his skull. His right clavicle and cervical vertebrae were fractured as well. And..."

The team waited for his next piece of information, they didn't want to push him right now in his mental state.

"... and there's a hole going through his spine and sternum, like it was pierced or punched through."

Cyborg stepped up. "I can boost the Tower's security and increase its motion detecting range."

Robin looked up as he saw the others all looking at him.

"I'll keep patrol outside the house, at least for a couple of hours." Terra said.

Beast Boy stood next to his blond friend, "And while she takes care of the outside, I'll be in, just waiting for him to come back so I can get a shot at him!"

"I can put up a telepathic barrier around the island. If anything crosses through, I'll wake up and tell you." Now they were all smiling at their leader. "You haven't failed anyone Robin. You did all that could be asked. You drove him away and kept Starfire safe."

He smiled now, knowing that they were doing all that friends could be asked to do; being there for him when he felt the worst. "With all of you guys doing all this, I guess the only thing that I could do to help would be-"

"To stay with me." Starfire interrupted. "We can protect each other like the friends that protect us" she said as her lips curled into a small cute smile.

Robin smiled again as well.

"That's just how it is with us Titans" Terra chimed.

"Yeah, to put one of us in danger…" Beast Boy began.

"… means you're messin' with all of us." Finished Cyborg.

Raven puffed up a small black ball of fire in her palm and gave a small smirk to her friend. "What else can be said?"

Robin nodded and looked again at Starfire. "Titans… go."

OoOoO

_One week later…  
9:45 A.M. Titans' Common Room_

"It's been a whole week and still no sign of our escapee," Raven proclaimed as she continued typing coordinates on the computer.

"He'll make a mistake….eventually." Robin answered her without turning, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed and staring directly through the window "And when he does, we take him down… as hard as we can." Raven did not need to use her empathic abilities to know that this delay brought Robin great pain.

"Rargh! I am Korgak of Hargluck! Fear me and my over-compensating weapon!"

"Tee-hee hehehe…." Raven glanced over and saw Beast Boy playing with Starfire. He was lifting a huge two-bladed axe, one side being gold-bladed with a silver eagle the other black iron with a strange red metal dragon, over his head and eventually fell over, which of course caused the cute alien girl to fall over laughing. As much as she wanted to smack the young changeling in the back of the head for touching their only evidence, she forced the thought away with the problem at hand. No crime for one week straight? Of course, it has happened before, but a week to the day after their incident with the armored figure was just… She remembered the image of that night. She turned to look at her orange-skinned friend, still laughing with the Changeling and now with Cyborg, and she remembered the blades caressing the front of her torso, the tears welling up in her eyes, and her desperate cry for a savior. Finally, the young sorceress shook her head. No. It is purely coincidence. Someone who would openly threaten or kill a defenseless girl is-

"If only I could have gotten a homing device on him like all the others. But…" Robin fumed. "I was just so caught up in my resentment I was hardly even focusing on fighting him that I didn't even think ahead like I usually do. He was one hell of a fighter too, using my own smokescreen to get away. I hate saying it but..."

"Then don't." She knew what he was trying to say, she was thinking the same thing, but she didn't want to hear it. To hear it was something completely different than thinking it. This guy is as talented as anyone we've faced off against, Slade included. He's smart, resourceful, can keep up with Robin… cut it out Raven, you're starting to sound like you admire this guy. Shaking the thoughts from her head Raven continued on her work searching for any clues to the mysterious fighter.

"So Raven..."

"Yeah?"

"About last week, have you learned anything about the incident in my room?"

Raven remembered going over the cameras from that night. Studying everything that happened between Starfire and their intruder, how their own little soon-to-be-homeless pet played a role in releasing one of their most evasive opponents yet, and writing down everything of the prophecy she had unintentionally foretold.

From the surface, it sounded like it was clearly speaking of her. But there were many things that she had yet to understand. Her prophecy was over, so what was this new stuff all about?

"Sorry Robin, but nothing more since my last report."

A familiar buzzing sound, along with a flashing red light, alerted the Titans to their business. No words were said, yet immediately all six Titans were in front of the giant screen awaiting their orders.

"Did our new friend show up?" Cyborg quickly asked.

"No. Just a monster alert at the diamond store in sector-2."

"Good enough."

OoOoO

"Aaaahhhh! Help!" The cries of innocent bystanders flooded the streets like a cacophony of horror. A giant violet creature, fully ten feet tall, possessing pincers resembling that of a lobster that could crumble cement pillars, recklessly swiped its claws. Blood red saliva streamed from its many dagger-like teeth, making the creature's path easy to follow. The six Titans surrounded the creature, in hopes of overwhelming it.

The six of them had circled the creature and each prepared their own attack that they were ready to execute all together. But the heroes hadn't expected the monster's deafening wail. The shriek caused them all to double over, desperately grasping at their ears in order to protect them.

Robin recovered first and launched a birdarang. But the projectile had little effect on the monster's chitin armor. It swiped a claw at him but the young acrobat deftly bent over backwards and dodged the attack leaving the creature's arm wide open for an opportunity attack. And Cyborg was more than happy to oblige to that invitation.

"Haaahhh!!" the half-robot teen cried as he raised his infamous right hook to his enemy's torso. But he was too slow. Quickly, the monster swung its arm back and took the teen right in his "ribs". Beast Boy stopped his friend from completing his descent though, catching him with his whole body. Simultaneously; Starfire fired her eye beams onto its right flank, Raven launched an enervation of dark magic to its left, and Terra unleashed multiple pillars of stone into its exposed chest.

But all for naught.

Another keen wail erupted from the beast at the pain of the barrage. All the heroes were launched back at least six feet.

"We can't hurt it Robin! That armor is too strong!" Cyborg yelled.

"There's got to be something we can do!"

"Look!" Terra screamed and pointed to the skyscraper behind the giant lobster-thing. Robin turned to where she was pointing and his eyes widened. Atop the building was his nemesis from a week earlier. The new associate began running down the side of the building, sword and dagger in hand. He was continuously gaining speed and just as he leaped off the building and came crashing down, he let out an impassioned battle cry.

"Vith dos!" as he screamed that, he pushed all his momentum into a final push and drove the longsword home into the creature's brain through the top of its head, and through the roof of it's mouth. When he landed, which cracked the cement he was standing on, he actually inversed his momentum and punched the dagger through the monster's chin to the monster's brain, pinning the creature's mouth shut and silencing it for good. With a deft twist of the handle, a pair of bladed prongs flipped out from either side of the razor, ensuring that the metal object wasn't going anywhere. But he couldn't stop his inertia then, and he launched himself into the air with that final thrust. To counter this he back flipped, kicking the monster in the chin midair, transferring much of the energy, and landing harmlessly to the ground.

He glowered over the creature's convulsing body, and only God knows what he was thinking at that point.

The boy swaggered over to the thing and peeled up a piece of its armor over its chest, revealing pale white and tender flesh. He raised a fist into the air as if to punch it, but flicked his wrist downward, ejecting the familiar wrist-blade, and struck with blinding speed. Ending the annoying spasms once and for all.

OoOoO

A/N: Took me a while sorry. Peace. And Review!


	4. Convergence

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans, any songs, or products mentioned in this story.

**Chapter IV: Convergence**

Robin got himself to his feet, but sat there dumbfounded. _He must have stabbed the heart._

The Teen Titan observed his savior; six feet tall, not wiry but not overly muscular either with muscles that were visibly very strong but not very large. 'Long muscles' they were called. Under the armor was a skin-tight bodysuit. The armor itself, some kind of Plexiglas, only clad his chest, shoulders, and back with a few plates of the same material running along the front of his arms and legs attached to the suit. A sash wrapped around and tied to his waist like a belt, and that held his weapons' sheaths. A pair of plate greaves ran over his thin leather boots. He also wore a helmet with a mask covering only the lower half of his face. His eyes were the darkest pool of green, but his entire uniform was colored violet.

After everyone recovered from the spectacle they had just witnessed, the violet clad warrior withdrew his weapon, stood up, and turned to Beast Boy. A strange look entered his eyes at that point. "Llie crone?" he asked.

"Uhhhh…" The Changeling slowly made his way to Robin, though the young men never broke each other's gaze, none of the Titans looked away from the new arrival. "Essamin naa Garrick, Garrick Nim'Ohtar. Vithel yele Daesalkar." He gave them a low bow, which confused and embarrassed them even more. "Amin nyeera ten'lle. Er enquie arinyan nae-"

"Whoa whoa whoa. Listen dude we don't understand a word you sayin'." Cyborg interjected, his sonic cannon opened but down at his side just in case.

"Perhaps I can help." Starfire answered. She began to walk up to him but stopped at the sound of Robin's voice.

"Starfire, be careful! This is the same guy that tried to kill you!"

"But, through the lip contact I can-"

"You really wanna go kissing him? We don't know anything about him. He could be some kind of demented pervert for all we know!" Terra added.

"Excuse me, but I speak Common." The masked warrior said.

"Oh, well… ahem… sorry."

"So dude, what did you just say?" Beast Boy asked.

"He asked us if we were hurt." Raven stepped up, eyeing the stranger.

"Wha-?"

"My name is Garrick. Also called Shadowdancer." Garrick answered as he walked to the creature and withdrawing his weapons. "I'm sorry. One week ago I put a member of your team in harms way by my own hand, I was scared and thought her an enemy. But I decided in my mind that I couldn't kill as my first act in any new place lest I be labeled an enemy, and I wish for no enemies." He spoke very formally and with great diction in his baritone voice. "Please, I truly apologize from the bottom of my heart." He turned and walked towards the orange-skinned girl. The Titans tensed and acted as if they were prepared to spring upon their own savior if he took but another step toward their friend. When he was just a two feet away he locked eyes with the girl for nearly a full minute before going down to one knee, closing his eyes, bowing his head, and holding out his sword to her.

The others were baffled by this action. But Starfire, raised in a world of monarchs, understood his actions without a second thought. He was displaying to her that he was prepared to accept any consequence. "Rise." She said, gently pushing the weapon back to its owner. "I thought long about the events of the past. You have done no harm to me or my friends. Though I was placed in a most dangerous position, you purposely did not injure me. When my friend Terra was in danger, you saved her even though you were under attack by her and others; your only goal was to escape to safety. And even now, you have saved us all from danger once again. And I assume that the lack of trouble lately was your work as well."

The fighter lowered his his head some more but said nothing.

"I have already come to the conclusion that you did not mean me any harm. Not truly. "

"Thank you."

"Mind if I say something here?" Raven interjected, walking next to Starfire. "It's been a long day and I'm sure Garrick would like some time alone..." she shot him an almost piercing look that could have been perceived as a threat, "… right?" He saw it, recognizing it for what it was, but did nothing to react.

"If you find it fitting, I was perhaps wondering if I may stay with you, if only for a short time."

"Excuse me!" Raven shouted from under her hood. "You don't seriously think you can put a blade to my friends throat, say sorry, and expect us to let you live with us do you!"

"Raven come here." Robin ordered, he had stood up and had the others already assembled around him. "Team meeting."

The pale girl reluctantly turned and marched to her friends, sneering the whole way while the other boy didn't even flinch or make a move to redraw his weapons. "What is it?" She barked out.

"We need to think about this before we make any rash decisions."

"No we don't! We've already seen what he's capable of and we can't risk him hurting anyone else! We know that he's perfectly capable of killing us and escaping."

"She's got a point Robin. He got away from FOUR of us, and was really close to bringing our team down to five. He could have if he wanted to." Cyborg pointed out.

"Exactly Robin, _if _he wanted to." Starfire intervened. "But he _did not_ want to. Raven is right in the point that we know what he is capable of. He is a talented fighter and could even harm us now if he wished it done." Everyone looked back to Garrick who stood tall and still with his arms crossed and eyes closed, leaning against the skyscraper.

"While Starfire's right on that last part I still agree with Raven's caution." Terra said.

"More like paranoia."

"Beast Boy!"

"I'm sorry Terra, but _I _agree with Starfire. We do know what he can do and he's good at what he does. Besides, you remember when you sided with Slade, then disappeared, and came back? Did we turn you down just because of what happened? No, we forgave you and now look. You're an irreplaceable part of this team who has saved more lives now then you hurt then. How can this be different?"

"Because we don't know anything about him." Raven growled.

"And we didn't _then_ either, but look how it turned out."

"I think Beast Boy's on the right track. I'm not saying I agree with him Raven," Robin answered her agitated look. "But we _do_ need to think in the long-term. Cyborg?"

"He could be a real threat. Sorry B, but I'm leanin' towards no."

"Beast Boy?"

"Absolutely."

"Terra?"

"We need to be careful. I'm not sure, but maybe he should find someplace else."

"Raven?"

"Hell no!"

"Starfire?"

"I said I have forgiven him and I was sincere. I truly believe him to be more an asset then a burden."

Robin took a deep breath as he made his decision, and blew it out quickly. "Garrick!" he called out before meeting him before the dead creature.

"I guess you have come to a conclusion?"

"Yes. We first had to ask ourselves the question 'can we trust you?'"

"That is a good place to start. But I want to stop you before you tell me what you came up with. If you should turn down my request, I will not hold any grudge. But, in so doing, understand that I will not stop my work to continue putting an end to the evils that occur here."

Robin showed no emotion but continued. "Some of us said yes, others said no. And, ultimately, it comes down to my vote. Should I say no, our group majority would turn you down. Not only that, but the ones who said no feel that you are too much of a threat to trust anyways and we would have to try and run you out… or worse."

"I see. I cannot blame them for following what they feel is right in their hearts."

"But if I say yes, then there will be dissention among us. So next, we had to ask 'what would happen if we did let you stay?'."

"Let me guess, some thought that I would help you and others thought that that I would kill you in your sleep."

Robin nodded. "And that's when I came to my decision. When we became a team for the first time, we agreed that we would put the lives and safety of the people in this city first and above everything else, including ourselves. We agreed that we would do everything and anything necessary to ensure that happens." Robin turned his glance to Raven, who knew exactly where he was going with this and now felt guilty and irritated that he was making her feel that way. But regardless of what she felt then, she broke their gaze and looked away. "And if it means allowing you to live with us, we will put our lives in that danger to keep our promise. Garrick, let's go home."

"Thank you." Garrick nodded to the Titan leader and walked towards the tower with four of the others.

They began their walk towards Titans Tower, but two Titans purposefully lagged behind. Raven turned to Robin "You can't be serious."

"She said she forgave him. And he looked really sincere." Robin stared at the ground for a second in thought then looked back at her. "He saved our lives Raven. It's a life for a life."

"I just have a bad feeling is all." She looked towards their home, like an alabaster monument. "There are some things about him that are just… out of place."

"We'll ask him. He's not staying with us for free. I said he could stay, not that he's part of the team." He looked at the young sorceress's confused look and smiled. "Let's go."

OoOoO

The two Titans entered shortly after the others, who had already found themselves comfortable spots around the Common Room. Terra and Garrick sitting side-by-side on the couch with Cyborg standing behind the Shadowdancer, and Beast Boy rummaging through the sarcophagus pulling out different weapons and asking Garrick what they were called.

"What's this?"

"A rapier."

"What's this?"

"A scimitar."

"And what's this called?" A pale hand whizzed across the back of Beast Boy's green head.

Raven and Robin found themselves seats at the breakfast table. Starfire, who had been sitting beside Garrick as well, flew next to Robin and sat down, placing him between two of the three female Titans.

"I have introduced myself but am still unfamiliar with all of you. Who are you?"

"I'm Beast Boy." The changeling said leaning over the metal casket before falling in.

"My name's Terra."

"Mine's Cyborg."

"I'm Robin."

"And I am Starfire."

Raven lifted a cup of herbal tea that one of the other Titans must have already made for her and took a sip without looking at the boy. "Name's Raven."

"Like I said before, I am Garrick Nim'Ohtar. However, my last name is not my own. My foster parents gave it to me when I was young. And is there a name for this company of yours?"

"Huh?" Beast Boy scratched his head.

"He means our team. We're the Teen Titans." Terra corrected.

"So Garrick what's with the mask? Do you have some kind of wicked scar you got fighting monsters or something?"

"Cyborg!"

"What?"

"It is alright. No I do not have any scars, on my face. This mask is for the protection of me, and those who wish to know me." Again, his comment left the Titans confused. "You see, while my helm and my mask protect my face physically, it also protects my friends from knowing my true identity. That way if my enemies were to find them, my friends could not tell them who I was, even if they wanted to, because they would not recognize me without my equipment."

"Sounds a little pessimistic to me." Raven put in, leaning back and crossing her slender arms over her chest.

"Maybe it is. But as long as it protects those I care about, it does not matter to me." He continued. "Since I started my adventuring days, only one person has ever seen me without the mask."

"Who?" Terra asked.

"My teacher, Drizzt Do'Urden."

Raven's eyes went wide. Suddenly she slammed her hand on the table. "That's it!"

"Raven?" Robin asked

"That explains it. Why the hieroglyphics couldn't be cracked, where he comes from and why he was speaking that language. All the time we were on our way back home I was trying to figure it out." She took a moment to collect herself as everyone stared at her waiting for an answer. _I can't believe I'm gonna say this. Usually Beast Boy is the one to come up with this theory._ She drew in a deep breath and answered their glares. "Because he's from another dimension."

OoOoO

"Yes, Yes, Yes! I knew it! I knew one day it would happen and it finally did! Haha! Yeah!"

"Alright BB that's great. First in three years! Ha!" Cyborg remarked rather sarcastically.

"She speaks the truth." Garrick says. Everyone turned to him. "I'm from a land called Abeir-Toril. A land not so different from your own, though hardly as advanced."

"What I still don't know is how it was your people were able to transport you _here_. Wouldn't planar travel be relatively easier? It's certainly more common." Raven commented.

"Hold up! What the hell are you two talking about?" Terra exclaimed, frustrated.

"It's like this…" Garrick began. He reached for two of the coasters on the table and set them side-by-side. "This is your dimension." He says pointing to one coaster. "And this is mine" He continues, pointing to the other. "As they sit side by side they exist as basically the same. Your land and mine sharing mountains, oceans, and deserts; only difference being the formations. But they are separated by this gap here, a vacuum between universes. This non-space separates the dimensions."

"But as the dimensions sit together, they are also bound." Raven explained further. She levitated the coasters next to each other and began to rotate them at a speed to the point at which they began to blur, appearing like multiple discs. "This represents the planes… other worlds of existence that exist within the dimension... nearly infinite others. Wizards, and others who study the arcane, are able to find holes in the boundaries that separate them and, thus, travel to other planes."

"Very good. You have much knowledge of the Arcane arts; you must be a magician of some sort as well." Raven didn't give him the satisfaction of letting him know her discomfort of being read so easily. "But piercing the non-space is nearly impossible. Think the afterlife only more distant; we believe it exists and that it's a place of its own but we cannot quite reach it, short of dieing. So, traveling between the dimensions is hardly ever even thought of. The planes exist as one, as you can see, but the dimensions are simply different versions of the planes. My home is a version of the Prime Material Plane, or physical Earth that you live in here. The only way I can think of travel between the two would be to have some kind of pact with Ao the Overgod, or to have the blood of a creature that can do such things." Luckily, he didn't see Raven's shock.

"Woah, the universe just got a little bigger." Beast Boy announced.

"Where I come from, we call it the Multiverse."

"And this explains your language how?" Robin asked.

"I spoke the language of the elves. A race of-"

"We know what an elf is." Beast Boy put in.

"I assumed _you_ knew. When I first saw you I thought you were one."

"Aww come on, girls love the pointy ears!"

Garrick continued his lecture on planar travel. He had some questions of his own. "How did you recognize it Raven?"

The young Titan didn't miss the question, but rather misinterpreted it. She heard it as an accusation, and, responding, replied with an unsubtle glare. "It is necessary in order to cast certain spells here." That of course was only half the truth.

"And how does this 'Drizzt' explain Garrick being from another dimension?" Starfire questioned.

"Because," Raven answered, "the people from my dimension of Azerath gain knowledge from other dimensions through means even I don't understand. Drizzt is well known and has filled volumes of books with his exploits."

Garrick's eyes settled on her and narrowed. She returned his gaze with the same intensity. His suspicions of her started to become clearer. _He knows_ she thought to herself _or at least suspects_.

"And where is this Azerath?" It was more spiteful than intended.

Raven paused before answering. "It's where I was born." Her eyes and her voice, matching his volume, she was not one to back down.

"And you can travel between the dimensions? But you seem about human."

_If only this guy knew…_ Raven could hear Beast Boy think. _He's trying to get me to admit it._ She thought to herself. "I am."

"You're more" he assumed "or less than completely human. Raven…" She looked up at him "you're a tiefling." There was no kindness in his dark green eyes. Not anymore.

Garrick fought the urge to throw a dagger into this monster's throat. He barely got out of trouble from his last violent encounter with the orange-skinned girl named Starfire. He could never trust a tiefling. Sure he could trust his black elf teacher, despite common claims about his heritage. But not a half-demon. Not since that day…

The purple-clad warrior back flipped off the couch, behind Cyborg, and began walking towards the door. He paused once, just to glance back at the dark girl. Then he saw her eyes. Those violet orbs reminding him of his master, of all the things they, both Drizzt and himself, had stood for. He saw the pain and torment in them, and seeing another in pain pained him. He knew what he did was wrong but could not apologize. Not after what they did to him. He turned and, bearing the pain, left through the door to the elevator.

"Tee-fling?"

Raven simply sat there, her mouth agape. _Did he just say what I think he said? How could he even think that's okay? _Normally, she would be infuriated. But that name, that word, she had not heard it for so long, and it did not bring back pleasant memories. She drew in a deep breath and, holding back minimal tears, calmly stood up and began to walk out of the room opposite the door Garrick left.

"Raven! I-"

"Please, Beast Boy. Just leave me alone for a while."

"…" He wanted to apologize for what he said even if he didn't understand it. But then he saw the water rimming the lips of her lids, her eyes not even looking at him, just staring at the floor, and he immediately calmed down.

"Please…" she begged.

"…Raven…"

She pulled up her cowl and descended into a portal of dark energy. She was going to the roof; she always did, especially at times like this.

OoOoO

Four hours had passed since the incident. Unable to find Garrick and confront him about what had happened the Titans had long ago gone to bed. Robin walked to the roof slowly. He was still worried about their team's empath. Not fully understanding what had just happened between Garrick and Raven, he was intent to find out.

OoOoO

Raven sat on the roof staring at the moon. Her hood pulled down, short purple hair waving in the wind, and tears streaming down her pale cheeks. She hugged her knees even closer to her breast. She pleaded to herself not to cry, that it was too dangerous especially with her powers. Even though, after the death of her father Trigon, she had gained greater control over her powers, she still that knew too much emotion would yield dangerous consequences. But she was still human and the slow silver streams came regardless if she wanted them to or not.

She sensed someone coming. Quickly she wiped at her face, stood up and pulled down her hood. Robin entered through the door.

"Everyone else is asleep." Raven commented.

"And you should be too." Robin retorted. "Listen, Raven, I know you probably don't want to talk about it but-"

"You're right I don't." She shot back. "But…I don't keep secrets from my friends anymore." Then she began. "When I was a little girl, I was ridiculed, humiliated, and turned away for being what I am: a half-demon. Garrick has been with us for less than a day and he already has figured that out. From his world tieflings, another name for half-demon humans, are considered to be evil; as evil as their demonic parent. And he follows that prejudice apparently. I don't know what happened to him to make him hate me so much and frankly I don't care, but whether I care or not doesn't make it right for him to condemn me. Especially if his teacher was a drow."

"Drow?"

"From his world they are a race of evil subterranean elves with black skin. They steal, murder, and destroy, even their own family, without a second thought, all in the name of their goddess's lust for chaos."

"So his teacher was evil? That certainly doesn't explain much. If he taught Garrick then apparently his morals didn't rub off."

"No, Drizzt was not like his people. But he too faced prejudice when he first deserted his people to live a good life on the surface." She looked over the edge of the roof to the half-rebuilt control panel. "Which is what confuses me. If Garrick was able to get over his prejudice and accept Drizzt, being a drow, then why such an attack towards me?"

"I'll have a talk with him. I'll find out why he has a problem with you, and I'll get him to apologize."

"Thanks, but I don't need his approval."

"Well, racism isn't something that we stand for. He'll need to learn how to deal with it or he can leave."

They stared at the moon together for a while then finally left to go back inside and back to sleep. "So are you finally going to get to sleep by yourself tonight, or is a certain alien wishing to do 'the cuddling'?" Raven grinned.

Robin's eyes went wide and he froze in place as he watched Raven leave through the door without even looking back at him.

OoOoO

The next morning came earlier than usual. Robin got up and, slowly easing Starfire's arm off his chest, went into the bathroom and got himself ready for the day.

He looked out the window of the living room and, wiping off his plate of breakfast into the sink, decided to give himself an early workout to calm his mind over the recent events and clear some things out_._

He went outside and found Garrick already going through several routines against an imaginary opponent. Wielding a long curved knife and a longsword, Robin's new roommate continued his practice without interruption. His practiced rhetoric consisting of many elegant twirls as well as hard pivots and lunges. From what Robin observed, this warrior was as much an opportunist as he was a fighter. He would go through one routine and finish with a particular move, then start over and, going through the same routine, finish with something completely different. He was training both his muscles and his brain to memorize how to react to different scenarios. _That's clever. With that kind of training over enough time, one could really learn react in split seconds._ "Hey!"

Garrick turned and looked at his new landlord. "Good morning! I pray you found rest a welcomed companion?"

"Did you stay up all night?"

"I don't know how long I've been asleep for before the last week. And I have too much on my mind to simply lay down and will it away. I have always kept strange hours and often have little need of sleep."

"I've seen first-hand how good you are with those weapons." Robin reached behind his back. "Care to give it another go? You want a real opponent this time?" A bostaff extended and the Titan leader gave it a few spins the air before bringing it down. Robin wasn't just going to fight Garrick, he was going to find out why he hated Raven so much.

"As you wish."

They ran at each other, Robin, wielding his staff with two hands off to one side, and Garrick with his two blades off to each side. Robin launched a swing that would have landed on the side of his opponent's face. But Garrick ducked under it and continued running, dragging the flat of his larger blade across Robin's exposed ribs. They both stopped at the same time, each other's back facing the other. Garrick did not even flinch, but Robin, his eyes wide, turned to face his enemy and stared at him dumbfounded.

"How did you-?"

"The weapon is simply a tool to be used at you're will. It has a spirit of it's own but in the end you decide where it will go. It is a part of you, as cliché as that may sound."

Robin smiled. "Let's try this again."

Garrick nodded and they charged in again. Garrick was the first to strike this time, bringing his longsword down in a vertical chop. Robin horizontally parried with his staff. Garrick, keeping his sword locked, swung his long knife up to slap at Robin's stomach. Instead, he heard the ring of steel on steel. The Titans' leader twisted his weapon and brought the end to meet Garrick's.

"You fight good." Garrick complimented.

"I was trained by the best."

"As was I."

Robin slipped his weapon up, expecting to get Garrick in the groin. But to his shock, Garrick withdrew his swords and back flipped just barely out of range right as the staff came up, nearly clipping Robin's chin in the process. Luck and hyper-sensitive reflexes moved him far enough back before his brain even registered the movement. As his adversary stuck his somersault he sprang up and dropped his long knife, picking a dagger from his boot,and fired it toward the leader. Though aimed nowhere near Robin's body, just above his shoulder, if the attack went unanswered then it would prove another killing blow. Quickly, the young fighter fired a birdarang and it intercepted the projectile perfectly, knocking them both off course.

Garrick landed lightly on the ground, grabbed the knife from its stuck position in the ground and the two charged at each other again, Robin, with his bo staff leading the way got caught in between Garrick's crossing blades. They pushed off of each other and Garrick came in again.

Slashing his longsword diagonally up and right, Garrick followed shortly with his knife along the same path. Suddenly, the knife made a sharp turn, cutting horizontally at neck level. Everything slowed. Robin dropped into a narrow crouching squat, ducking the attack.

From this position, he sprang up, somersaulting over Garrick. When he made no move to attack, Garrick stood and stared at him with his stoic almond-shaped eyes.

"I get a disturbing feeling that you wished to exchange more than blows. Have you something to say to me?"

"I could ask you the same thing, but then where would we be?" He stood there unflinching. Staring at this martial equal.

Garrick came in piercing with his knife. Robin dodged the first few jabs and then brought the staff up horizontally from under the last. Garrick's sword crashed on the other side of the weapon. Robin intended to bring his pole down to disengage from the pressure, but Garrick stopped that with a raised knee; pinning the shaft between a limb driving up and two blades coming down, both which started to slide along the staff and scissor for his neck. Robin began to disengage but that driving knee stopped its push and extended out. Robin let go with on hand and turned his body to dodge the kick. But doing so allowed Garrick to reverse his knife and rest it on Robin's collarbone, ending another bout in victory for the newcomer. The two took their steps back and stared at each other much harder than before.

"You're avoiding the question." Robin said after looking at Garrick and his narrowed and focused eyes.

"Then be more specific!" Garrick ran towards him and quickly spun, whipping the flat of his sword against the metal rod.

Garrick brought his knife up, intending to give the young leader a smack in the side of the head.

But Robin managed to duck under the attack; he pushed down on one end of his weapon, expecting to bear down on Garrick's shoulder, only to be denied by a parry with the long knife.

Garrick slapped his opponent in the neck with his now free weapon. Robin flinched, of course and rubbed at the stinging skin with his green-gloved hand while backing up and trying to read his opponent's face expression. Unfortunately, there was none anymore. He had apparently read through Robin's tactics and did not give the leader what it is he was looking for.

They started again. Robin, using his staff like a pole-vault, launched himself at his enemy, firing a strong kick while in mid-air. Garrick crossed his blades and blocked it. As Robin landed he swung his staff vertically down, but it got caught in Garrick's crossed weapons.

With the weapon caught, Garrick brought his swords down to his side on the ground, taking with it Robin's staff, then whipped his long curved knife out and slapped Robin across the cheek again.

"Damn!"

They backed off each other and started another round. Robin ran in screaming and swung at Garrick's legs. Garrick tried to rebound off a rock but the pole just caught in the crook of his ankle and managed to hit him. Robin tripped him, and while on the ground, attempted to deliver a Coup de Grace of his own by jabbing him in the chest with the butt of his staff. But he was denied by an **X**-cross of blades. Catching the staff right in the middle, Garrick pulled Robin, by the staff, down to the ground.

Garrick locked his weapons with Robin's at the hilts and, driving them deep into the earth, pinned the bo staff against the ground. Now pushing against the ground, Garrick succeeded at his "back flip-chin-kick" and sent Robin flying backwards. But thinking quickly Robin used the momentum, somersaulted, and landed on his feet.

Garrick dashed at him much quicker than before; he leaped, twirled and landed a kick right to the Titan's face. As he landed, he launched another swinging kick, this time for his opponent's legs, tripping him up. Now, spinning on his back, he brought down his foot for a third time, aimed at Robin's stomach, hoping to end the match. But Robin saw the attack and quickly rolled out of the way, then got up back on his feet, as did Garrick. They eyed each other before Robin spoke up again.

"Raven told me that Drizzt was drow, but you didn't care about _his_ heritage. But Raven being half-demon drives you crazy? What reasons could take you to such extremes?"

"Long ago my family was murdered, both of my parents." The two fighters began circling each other. "I witnessed them die with my own eyes. Not just my family, but my entire village was destroyed by monsters. I vowed that day, that I would never allow such atrocities to happen if there was anything _I_ could do about it."

"The Teen Titans don't tolerate any form of discrimination. We can't let you stay with us if you don't learn to accept her."

"I may not like her. But I _will _tolerate her and I _do _accept her."

Both were unarmed now. Garrick ran and struck first with a spinning back kick, which Robin easily blocked. Next, he tried to trip him up again, but the acrobat simply jumped over the attack. When he landed, Garrick struck at him with an open-palmed hit. When the two connected with Robin's block, he grabbed Garrick by the forearm and pulled it down while he drove his knee up into Garrick's chest. Garrick stumbled back, though only from the rare loss of balance, and placed his hand over his armor where the blow had struck.

Both circled each other for what seemed like forever. Glaring. Panting.

Robin charged in. Garrick, his arms defending his chest in a crossed **X** pattern and open palms, waited for him. The Teen Titan slapped away his defenses and struck up with his palm directly in his chin. Dazed, Garrick tried to put up his defense again, only to feel two, three, four lightning-fast jabs strike him directly in the ribs. He tried to shrug it off but before he knew it, Robin had grabbed his arms and pulled the violet duelist into him and forced a knee into his stomach.

Garrick seized his opportunity while he could and yanked up on Robin's other leg, tripping him up. However, Robin was agile; he bent over backwards, caught himself on his hands, and landed back on the ground. Meanwhile, Garrick worked away from him.

Arrogant, Robin smirked at his opponent before he ushered for Garrick to attack. And, with a face unemotional under his mask, he obliged. He threw a punch. Robin caught it with one hand and slapped it away then turned his hand quickly and back-fisted Garrick across the helmet, following with a fast punch to his forehead with his free hand. Again he tried to get his defenses up while he was dazed only to feel an elbow at the side of his head. Even with the helmet it hurt just as much as the first strike did.

Robin continued his assault. As he pulled his elbow-striking arm back, he grabbed Garrick by the back of the neck and pulled him down into his knee again. He waited for the dexterous new warrior to get back up off the ground before pummeling him again. Garrick managed to block a few kicks aimed at his head, and when he got punched in the head and knocked to the ground, he somehow found the inertia and momentum to land on his hand and then on his feet.

Garrick blocked the first jab but missed the second, which connected with his ribs, unwinding him long enough for Robin to bring a hard hook with his other hand. Robin brought it back in hopes of another elbow attack, but Garrick managed to barely duck under it. So Robin brought a steel-plated foot directly into his chest plate. Garrick welcomed the force as long as it got him away from Robin. Once out of melee range, the two charged back in. Simultaneously they threw a punch and caught each other's attack. Locked, they stared into each other's eyes. Robin was not only shocked that the boy was still fighting, let alone standing, but also because he saw a strange fire go from a simmer to a blaze in his now dark eyes. And he could feel an unknown strength in the grip on his fist. They pushed off of each other and charged in once more.

Now the intensity picked up. Blows came in harder, faster. They began countering each other flawlessly and countering each other's counters. Robin would fire a punch to have his head dodge to the side, slap it away, then slap away a punch directed at his head with his free hand. This continued for several minutes. But Robin was better trained in bare-hand combat than his adversary. He decided to end it with a move Garrick had showed him. As a punch came directly towards Robin's face, he bent over backwards and fell onto his back. Redirecting his momentum he swung his legs underneath Garrick, tripping him. Spinning on his back he brought his other foot down directly onto his stomach. That final blow ended it. Forcing the fight out of Garrick once and for all. At least, that's what Robin convinced himself was the case.

The warriors helped each other up and continued their conversation.

"Then why the prejudice?"

"Prejudice?"

"I saw the way you were looking at Raven. If you were so bent on the good of mankind, why did you call her a name and then run off like some angst-ridden child?"

"I said she was a tiefling, which is true. She is a child born unto human and demon." His labored breathing was now becoming steadier.

"And what's so wrong with that?"

"A group of tieflings slaughtered my family!"

Robin didn't even consider this. When he was young, he saw who had killed his family and had vowed vengeance. But Garrick didn't. He vowed justice. Now he understood. Seeing Raven just reminded him of that day. If Robin were in his position, he would probably have tried to kill Raven. Yet, Garrick showed great restraint. He looked down to the ground. "I think that's enough for today. We'll call it a draw. You beat me at weapons and I beat you bare handed."

"I agree. It was difficult to watch new friends fight."

"Starfire!"

Indeed it was Starfire, as well as all the other Titans. Raven looked a long while at Garrick then turned and left.

"How long have you guys been there?" The Titan leader finally asked.

"Almost the whole time." Cyborg answered.

"And you didn't say anything?"

"We couldn't stop watching your guys fight." Terra replied.

"I think it's time we got ready. Never know what might happen today. Just fitness training for today Titans: weights and cardio. And Raven..." The girl turned back to her leader with a scowl after hearing his call. "Me and Garrick could use some healing when we get back." He disarmed the girl with a smile but it seemed to do little else.

"Actually…" Garrick said, "I understood what you were doing. If you wish to know more about me then you need only to ask."

"Alright, but I want everyone to hear your story. Raven included. Do you understand?"

"Yes. I understand."

* * *

A/N: Good? Bad? Tell me what you think of the fighting. Was I clear? Pleaze Review.


	5. The Irony of Destiny

Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Titans or any songs, bands, or products mentioned in this story.

A/N: Sorry about not updating for such a long time. I just moved and only one computer has Internet. Also all my information is on floppy disc, and the computer with Internet doesn't have a floppy drive. So… sorry. Oh, and for those who read the Forgotten Realms, say hello to my best, and favorite, friend.

**Chapter V: The Irony of Destiny**

"Okay now explain." Everyone had gathered in the entrance room to the tower, a corridor about 20 feet wide and 60 feet long, lined with neatly spaced, padded chairs, and a single thick line of red carpet running down the hall. Raven leaned against the opposite wall as Garrick; with her hood down and drooping her head low enough for the cloth to mask her eyes.

"Forgive me if the tale is a bit dry. I'm not much of a storyteller and am no bard by any account." He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"When I lived in Abeir-Toril, I had lived a short life of peace. I lived with my mother and father, good people, who loved the earth they tilled just as much as they loved each other." He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall.

"Then came the day when all I had known in the world came crashing down. A band of tiefling rogues came charging my village. I don't know how many of them there were. All I know is that when it all started, when the cries of the other villagers could be heard telling each other to hide the children, my father had locked me in the pantry telling me to keep quiet." He closed his eyes and his voice became cold underneath his mask. As he raised his head, he opened his eyes and the Titans could actually see the color of his eyes swirling and changing their color to a deep, dark green. "I saw my parents murdered with my own eyes." He paused a moment. "The tiefling who attempted to pick the lock to the pantry I was in was not quite intelligent enough to succeed, so I was spared, but still not safe." Garrick answered Beast Boy's confused look with his next sentence "After they looted the houses, they set them on fire.

"I had little time to escape. I don't remember how I got out of there, I was breathing in a lot of smoke and I couldn't see very well, but I _do_ remember what I saw after I got out of the rubble when my house very nearly fell on top of me.

"I saw smoke, and fire…" Garrick swallowed hard, "and blood. The bodies of my friends, their families, and people I didn't even know. They were all dead, their bodies littering the street. Bodies that were maimed, decapitated, disemboweled were everywhere in plain sight." He closed his eyes and tried to steady his shaking breath as his head and shoulders began to visibly drop a little bit. "I was 5-years-old."

The pain of the memory was obvious for the other Titans to see. But Robin did not stop the boy from telling his tragic tale. He had willingly presented to story to the team of his own accord and could stop when he was ready.

"I told myself that I would never allow this to sort of thing to happen if I could stop it. But then, I cried for hours on end. Eventually, an elven scout who had saw the fires had come by. He saw the devastation and then saw me. I know not what he was thinking at that moment, I really didn't even care. I had simply collapsed in the midst of the dirt road separating the village, in grief, wailing in agony. I traveled with him to an settlement where I lived for the next 5 years."

"So, that's why you were talking all funny when we first found you?" BB put in.

"He must have thought you were an elf." Cyborg laughed, playing with the Changeling's pointed appendages and drawing tiny yelps from the boy.

"Then I met Drizzt."

As everyone looked back at him, they saw his now blue eyes sparkle at the mention of the foreign name.

"He saved my life. As bandits were attacking our settlement, all the children were being told to hide. I said I didn't need to hide, that I wanted to help save my friends. But they wouldn't listen. A while later, I snuck out of their hiding place, against the protests of my peers, and picked up a knife from a fallen enemy I had found. A bandit had found me and I rushed up to him. I ducked between his legs and came up slashing at his back.

"But I was careless. Another one of the brigands snuck up behind me and was about to lop off my head. But when I turned around, it was he who had lost his. I had never even heard of a black elf before, he asked me if I was unharmed and I nodded, still amazed. I continued to watch him fight and it was the most beautiful thing my eyes had ever seen. His scimitars whirled in amazing arcs with such speed, like a moving barrier of blades.

"I realized that if I could fight like him, be like him, that I would be able to hold my vow. Until the day I die. I decided to follow him, study him, but eventually he caught me. I asked him to teach me to fight like him and of course he told me no. But he came around after I bothered him about it for 6 more months. He trained me, and I followed him in his exploits for the next 5 years of my life."

"He banished you?" Starfire inquired.

"Of course not. Drizzt was much to kind to have ever have done such a thing… to anyone."

"So you left." Robin surmised.

"Yes."

"Why?" Cyborg curiously asked.

"He told me there was nothing more he could teach me. Other than tracking and the ways of the forest, he said I was a fine enough adventurer to go out on my own and carve my own legends in history. Those were the only lessons I had never showed much interest nor promise in. But he saw my potential in working from the shadows and sword. My apprenticeship under him had gotten to the point where our sparring matches would go on for four or five minutes at a time before either of us could score a hit, although I still think he was going easy on me; and we would even surprise each other coming down the hallways at night.

"I also learned of my affinity for the two-weapon fighting style. It helped me dearly; especially when I saved Toril from a great daemon."

Raven began to listen more intently now, and showed it by slightly revealing her eyes from under her cowl.

"You saved the world from a demon?" Terra asked like a giddy schoolgirl, her eyes wide with curiosity.

"I did. It was 6 months after I had left my master that it happened. It's a _long_ and… difficult… story, so I won't go into it. At least for now." He looked to Robin with pained eyes, now slightly gray, silently asking if that was all right. He replied with a paused nod. "But in the end I destroyed a priest who was also a half-demon. He was going to sacrifice himself, and thus, would summon forth a Great Baal by the name of Trigon."

"TRIGON!?"

"Yes." Garrick hesitantly answered.

"Woah man." Cyborg said

"I know, freaky." Beast boy agreed

"What do you know of the great Baal!?" Garrick demanded. No one said anything, but stared at the shadowdancer.

"We killed him." Robin calmly replied after looking to Raven for permission.

Garrick relaxed and slowly shook his head.

"What is wrong?" Starfire asked questioningly.

"It's just ironic is all. When you kill a demon or devil of any kind, they are simply sent back to the hell or abyss from which they came. They can only _really_ be destroyed by slaying them on their home plane or calling forth their True Name."

"NO! We saw Raven kill him! He disintegrated into nothing!" Beast Boy couldn't help but scream out.

"So it was Raven who sent Trigon back into the dark pits?" Garrick questioned. "Then I owe you more respect than I have shown you." He stood straight up now.

"Trigon is a powerful entity, greater even than Mephistopheles, the ruler of Cania, the Eighth Circle of the Abyss."

The dark girl looked up at him, then, looked away. "You don't owe me anything. He was evil. He needed to be stopped."

"That we can agree on. Still, it must have felt strange, destroying blood."

Everyone began to feel tense. _How did he figure it out? That I'm Trigon's daughter! Can he read minds as well?_

"You know, another demon." That made everyone calm down.

Raven covered her face in the shadow of her cowl once again. "I felt nothing for him."

"That's good to hear. I may have been wrong about you. But only time will tell."

She looked up from the shadow of her hood now, her eyes moist but her face unmoving. "I don't need anything from you. If you want to prove something to me, then do it with your actions not words." She stood up from her spot against the wall, turned, and walked down the corridor, vanishing behind the hissing door, Garrick eying her the whole way.

"She is a complicated one." Garrick said with his teal eyes still on the door.

"You have no idea." Cyborg and Beast Boy replied simultaneously as Robin approached him.

"I know she doesn't trust me," the violet fighter said still eyeing the door, "some say that trust is for the foolish and the dead. But though I have no love for her, we can't survive on the battlefield if we can't rely on everyone, agreed?" he turned to Robin at the question.

"Yeah, I guess so. But choose your words more carefully, especially around her. Raven may be complicated, but there's a reason for it."

"Duly noted." Garrick turned to the elevator door that would take him to the higher levels.

"Hey Robin, where's he going?" Beast Boy asked.

"He's going to talk to Raven. Maybe try and prove his trust."

"What!?" Beast Boy sped down the hallway like a cheetah just as the elevator's doors began closing. When he made full speed he shifted into a turtle and slid on his belly, just barely making his way into the tiny room just as the doors closed and returned to human form. "Dude! Do you have a death-wish or something!?"

OoOoO

She entered her room and flopped down on her bed. She began thinking about Garrick's story. Through the sacrifice of a half-demon, Trigon could rule. The tale was all too familiar. It happened only a year earlier. She sat down cross-legged and began her daily meditation chant.

"_Azerath Metrion Zinthos" __Breathe._ She let out a long exhale. _"Azera-"_ She sensed something. The mage leaped up from her bed and engulfed her hands in dark energy. "Who's there?" Nothing. _Maybe I just imagined it._ She calmed herself down and let go of her powers.

"Dude I'm serious. You don't want to go in there!"

"I'll take my chances Beast Boy. I'm not going to do anything wrong."

"Listen, Raven doesn't like people in her room."

A knock came at the door. Raven considered just ignoring it and let them leave on their own accord, but then she realized the potential gain that could be found in further knowledge about him. What if he had lied the whole time? Then, in the middle of the night, he could finish what he had begun with Starfire. A plan began to formulate in her ever-calculating mind. "Come in." The door opened and Garrick walked in, a confused Beast Boy left in the hallway. Without even moving her lips she cast a small divination spell to make sure he was unarmed, surprisingly he was. Even his gauntlet was gone.

"I am only-"

"It's okay. I'm over it."

"May I sit?"

Raven nodded.

"Tell me about your mother."

"What are you doing?"

"I don't understand."

"Why would you want to know about my mother, or my father? So you can ridicule me even more? So you can pry some information out of me? Well here's some information for you, I've been dealing with this for far longer than you can ridicule me for."

"I just want you to trust me. I won't lose any sleep tonight knowing whether or not you _care_ for my well-being, but know that regardless I will still protect you and your friends with my life no matter the measure of my feelings for any of you."

Raven was taken back. _How am I supposed to respond to that?_ _I guess I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, but I have to go through with the plan._ "She was a beautiful woman. But unfortunately she fell in with the wrong crowd."

"No need to sugar-coat things for _me_ Raven."

"Fine, she was a Satanist, a rape victim, and eventually murdered."

"I see, and your father?"

Raven had tried so much to avoid talking with him about Trigon.

"Raven?"

"My father… is not someone even worth mentioning."

"I understand. He is the demon. You need not speak of it if it is not your wish."

"But-" Raven turned and bumped into her bed, causing her to fall over. But Garrick was quick to get up off the bed and catch her, and she fell into his arms. They stared at each other's eyes for a long while. Her lavender orbs connecting with his clear, swirling, and widening blue ones. How those purple eyes had reminded him of Drizzt so… Finally, Raven pulled herself up and turned around to hide her deep blush.

"Raven, are you…"

"I'm fine."

"I guess…" the shadowdancer stuttered, "I'll just leave." He stood up and began to make his way to the door.

"Wait." _Did I see a tint of red in that face of his?_

"Have we come to an understanding?"

"Not quite… I have a request for you. Let me look into your memories."

"Pardon me?"

"I want you to let me see what you've seen. If you don't, two things will happen. One, I'll know that you're hiding something and look into them by force. And two, I'll tell my friends and convince them that it's reason for suspicion."

Garrick stood at the door and stared at the floor, thinking, for a few moments. "If I let you do this… will it put your mind at ease?"

"For now."

"When I think back to that day…" his voice wavered, "… I can still hear the screams in my head… You want to see what I've seen?" He lifted his sullen face from the floor to Raven. "Are you prepared to see what I've seen?"

OoOoO

Raven began the preparations. "I need you to lie down on your back." As Garrick obliged Raven grabbed a large bottle of blue powder from her shelf and poured it in a circle around the fighter, his height being the diameter. "I'd levitate you, but every ounce of concentration's going to be used to maintain the spell." Placing five candles equidistant along the perimeter of the circle, she sat behind his head and lit the candles with her powers. Slowly the pale-skinned girl removed the shadowdancer's helmet, revealing short brown hair. She let out a light chuckle. _Cute, how average._

"Is this a part of the preparations?"

"The helmet might interfere with the psychic connections," she bluffed. Raven continued the ritual. "Normally I can read minds as a natural ability, however if I wanted to delve _deeper_ I have to take more… 'drastic' measures."

"How comforting."

_If I'm not careful I might start to like this guy, _Raven warned herself. The young sorceress went through numerous hand-signs while reciting the spell's chant.

She clapped her hands together as a child in prayer would do. _Oneo saleno samatca,_ the fire on the candle closest to Garrick's left foot burst into a thin pillar of green flame.

Raven enacted the next incantation, dropping her middle fingers side-by-side but still clasping her hands. _Vita mortis caria, _the candlestick closest to Garrick's right foot erupted into a similar pillar of orange fire.

_And the next step_, she dropped her two index fingers similar to her middles. _Obida nemora sespaa, _now the candle closest to his left hand erupted.

She tilted her hands ninety degrees forward._ Enkactus pulcar empirier, _a column of purple flame sprang forth next to the fighter's right hand.

Rotating her hands back up ninety degrees to their original position, the sorceress enacted the final step of the spell. _Oles volasitaa, _The candle behind Garrick's head performed the same action as the previous four, erupting into a shaft of black flame.

Garrick closed his eyes as she touched his temples.

Immediately, Raven was rushed through time and space. Pictures of bloody battles and even some of very beautiful girls hurried through her mind and raced past her as she felt her spirit struggle against his mental shield resisting her. She tried with all her will to stay together and not get washed away in the memories or get forced back into her body from the repulsing barricade within his head. _'I need you to relax and let me in.'_

'_This is just who I am, you couldn't read my mind if you used your regular methods. This was part of my master's training to help me resist enchantment spells.'_

'_Well he did one hell of a job._' In the tunnel of space, Raven saw a small hole light up. This travel was just like when she traveled to Azerath, but much more intense. Struggling through, she pushed, squirmed, and struggled until she was nearly at the light. It was like trying to walk up a slope with a sixty mile-per-hour wind blowing against you. With a final push, she was in, and had made her way through Garrick's mental barrier.

Raven fell to the ground with a _THUD!_ and rolled across the earth down a dusty hill. She continued rolling for some time before slamming into the now even ground, blasting the air from her chest. After a few seconds, she slowly got up and dusted herself off, groaning all the while. Looking up, she saw a small village. Two rows of buildings lined a dirt road going down the middle of the village. While several farms, lying a few hundred yards beyond town, dotted the horizon. Women walked down the dirt road with their children, men carried giant rolls of straw and other farm goods on their backs to the small, almost unnoticeable, market.

Raven proceeded to walk into the village. Reminding herself that she was only in Garrick's memories and could not interact with the people - nor could they with her - the young sorceress ignored the 'illusions'. It was twilight. The sun was slowly setting and a moon was fading into sight, a moon with a trail of asteroids.

"Momma, momma, what are those?" a small boy, no more than five, asked pointing to the asteroids.

"Those, are called the tears of Selûne."

"How come Selûne cries momma?"

"Well, a long time ago…" Raven dropped off the conversation there. She had an objective to complete.

In Garrick's memories she had no body, yet she could feel pain because her mind, on the outside, made it real. So it came as no surprise to her that when she tried to levitate herself, nothing happened. But the environment was real enough for her mind. So, she walked.

Strolling through the center of the street she took in the sights of the simple farming village. She saw what must have been a small church with a symbol of a blooming rose on a radiated wreath of golden grain set upon the stained glass window above the building's entrance. _This place is really peaceful, I can't see Garrick growing up here _she thought. She continued walking as the sky got more and more red.

Suddenly she felt a rumbling in the earth. It started soft but got stronger and stronger. Raven turned around but had to strain her eyes, as she was looking straight into the setting sun. She placed a hand over her eyes to block out most of the light, and saw black spots lining the top of the hill she had fallen from earlier. More and more dots continued to spill over the top of the mound but she still couldn't make out what they were. Then she remembered what Garrick had told them earlier.

_A band of tiefling rogues came charging my village. I don't know how many of them there were. _There must have been at least 70 of them.

Ravens eyes went wide when she was able to see the figures. They looked like regular people, but with small goat-like horns on their foreheads, long devilish tails, and most of them had a dark complexion. They ran fast, and got even faster. They were now all the way down the hill and still charging the village.

Without her powers, there was nothing Raven could do but watch as the demon-folk ran past her through the village, slashing their way through the townspeople. The half-demons did not even flinch as they murdered the women or the children. One rogue would kill a civilian, then run into a house and come back out with their arms full of valuables.

She looked to her left and saw an elderly man being impaled through the stomach. She turned away from the sight to see a young girl, not much older than herself, held in place while another of the invaders sliced her throat open. She saw children being chased down the street but had not the heart to watch what happened to them. Every second that passed more people died.

There was so much blood.

Raven felt her insides turn. She collapsed onto her knees and continued to watch the tieflings slay the innocent villagers with awestruck eyes. If she could cry she would. If she saw anymore, she was going to go insane.

Blood. There was so much blood. It was everywhere.

An elderly man was slashed across the throat, spraying the flowers of the market in a fine red mist before being thrown onto a table, splintering it in two.

Fine blades cut a woman across the stomach, easily slicing through her delicate flesh, and emptying her entrails onto a crying child before he too was run through.

_That's it. I can't take anymore._ Raven extended her index and middle finger on each hand and set them together perpendicular to each other. "_Release_!"

Immediately the environment whizzed past and again she felt herself being violently pulled through space. Her spirit collided into her body with a violent crashas she slammed onto the floor. The young Titan got up, rushed to the bathroom as fast as she could - luckily no one was in there - and released what she had been holding in.

Garrick weakly rolled over on his stomach and pushed himself onto his knees as he saw the girl rush out of her room holding her hand to her mouth. "I warned you," he said weakly. "I guess you weren't prepared."

OoOoO

After she had cleaned herself off, she slowly walked back to her room. She looked at Garrick's back as he sat on her bed facing the covered window, his elbows on his knees and head slightly sunken. Raven slowly picked up what remained of the candles and put them back in her trunk at the foot of the bed. Then, she made her way back to the bottle that held some of the blue powder used in the ritual and placed back on the shelf (the powder had burned into nothingness as fuel of the magical energies). Finally she sat on her bed with her back facing the boy, and sat there a long while thinking about what she had just seen.

"You know, you didn't even see me in those memories."

"I know"

"And they were only a part of my story. If you want to see the legitimate tale, you will have to look again."

"No. That was all I could take."

"For now." Garrick repeated her previous quip. "Remember, I was five-years-old that day."

"Yeah. H-How are you feeling?"

"I feel fine now. The weakness has left my body. I am a relatively fast healer. But I believe the more important question is how are you feeling?"

"…"

"That's what I was afraid of."

Raven saw his helmet still lying on the floor and levitated the armor to him. "H-Here."

"Thank you." He said as he grabbed the floating helm and carefully placed it over his head. There was a long awkward silence between the two before Garrick finally broke the tension. "Well it's late in the noon. I'm sure there are still plenty of things that you need ponder before night is upon us. So, I'll leave you to your thoughts." The purple warrior got up from the bed and headed for the door. But as he opened the portal he stopped for a moment, "If you require my services, I will be training within your storage room downstairs."

The girl gave a long exhale before returning to her meditations to think on what had occurred over the last hour.

OoOoO

Garrick continued to walk down the darkened hallway before he met Beast Boy at the elevator. He walked into the small quarters and pressed the button for the basement just before the Changeling pressed the button for the third floor.

"So exactly what kind of hocus pocus did she put on you? You gonna cluck like a chicken every time you hear a bell?"

"She just… got to know me a little better."

"Oooh," the green boy said in a sing-songy tone, "a little intimate time with our local mistress of magic, eh?" The doors closed with dull clang and the machinery made its way down the tower; but not before a black magical hammer whacked Beast Boy on top of the skull, knocking him to the floor.

"I get the feeling she heard you." Garrick replied not moving his body in the slightest.

"No kidding." The Changeling rubbed the top of his head, kneading the goose egg growing up there, as the elevator reached the third floor and the doors opened wide. Beast Boy got up and began to walk out but held the door open at the last moment. "Listen, Raven may be a bit rough, hell it took her about a year to quit hating me," he chuckled, but when Garrick didn't change his stoic expression he cleared his throat and continued, "but don't hold it against her. She's a good person, and a better friend, and doesn't deserve to be treated less than anything else. Just try to work with her. She's really not that bad if you learn to bear her constant sarcasm. Give her some time." Beast Boy let go of the door and gave Garrick a smile.

"Perhaps she won't need as much time as you think."

"Wait. Wha-" but he was cut off when the doors shut before his face.

Garrick leaned against the back of the room with his arms crossed and let out a huge sigh. _I have spent some time with the half-demon girl and, though she had been stern, controlling, and somewhat manipulative, I do not feel threatened by her. Is that because of my lack of fear due to years of fighting, or is it because there was nothing about her to be threatened by in the first place. She is indeed a powerful entity herself; of that there is no doubt._ He subconsciously rubbed his neck at the memory of their first encounter. _However, I feel in my heart that there is nothing for me to fear from this girl. I even feel, though in reluctance and repulsion of myself for feeling so, maybe even some attraction to her. _Garrick placed his hand on the visible part of his face, resting his elbow on his other arm, and let out another sigh. _Her team is honorable enough it seems, and more forgiving than most people I have met, so she cannot be such a horrible individual. But…still, she is what she is. I am a hypocrite for treating her so unfairly when Drizzt was drow. But, if she is a tiefling, how in the world can I work with her after what happened? Everyday I would be reminded of that event long ago. And, I fear, it would begin to eat away at my soul; steering me towards a path I have tried so hard to avoid, and changing me into a person I do not wish to be._

_Then again, even if she was _born_ with a devil within herself, am I so different?_ The elevator stopped at the basement floor and Garrick grabbed his weapons out of the lift before he walked out into the enormous storage chamber. He began removing his armor starting with his helmet, then to his greaves, his chestplate, the sash he used as a belt, the plates running along his limbs, the gloves, and finally the boots. Everything was placed neatly together next to the elevator. Standing in only his cloth socks, his body suit, and his mask, the agile warrior took in a deep breath before leaping atop the crates to begin some more training.

OoOoO

Robin continued to stare at the sarcophagus from across the room as he gulped down his bottled water. Cyborg was playing his usual racing game on the couch as Starfire sat next to him cheering him on. Beast Boy came down the small set of stairs, with a hand on the back of his neck and looking at the ground with a confused look on his face.

"Beast Boy, something on your mind?" Robin asked.

"It was just something that Garrick said. It's got my head all twisted up like a pretzel."

"Ain't too hard to do that. Just pick a word out of a dictionary." Cyborg shouted out from the front of the room. Beast Boy wrinkled his face in agitation but simply shook it off.

"What did he say?" Robin asked. Any further information about the team's new "member" picked at his interest deeply. "And didn't you go to stop him from talking to Raven?"

"Well, yeah I did. When I tried to talk him out of it in the elevator, he just stood there and said nothing; he just gave me his weapons, and I left them in the elevator. But when we got to her door, Raven let him in anyway and locked me out. I stood outside in the hallway for a while, but when I got bored I tried looking under her door… guess what I saw?"

"What?"

"Not much. But what I did see was him was lying on the floor, his helmet too. He just laid there with Raven poking his head. It freaked me out. So, I went to wait by the elevator. About fifteen minutes later he comes walking out of the room like nothing happened."

"Maybe our little Rae-Rae likes him a little more than we thought." Cyborg threw in without taking his eye off the screen.

"Well that's what I said. Then she hit me in the head with her voodoo."

Starfire turned around to Beast Boy. "I doubt that Raven would do such a thing. You remember how distraught she was after the episode with Malchior… or was it Rorek? Did he change his name?"

"So what are you confused about Beast Boy?" Robin took another swig of his water as he asked the question.

"It's what he said afterward. I told to give Raven some time and maybe things between the two of them would clear up. He told me that maybe she won't need as much time as I thought. And I'm just trying to wrap my head around what he meant by that."

"That is pretty weird BB." Cyborg added.

Robin got up from his seat and walked towards the door through which Beast Boy had just entered.

"Hey where are you goin'?"

"Just going to get some more training in."

OoOoO

Robin continued down the lighted hallway. Even though it was midday outside, inside the tower, where the sun's rays could not reach, was dark. So Cyborg had programmed the tower to automatically light the inner confines of the structure by synching the lights with an automated timer built into the mainframe's internal clock. Robin remembered when Cyborg first did it and explained the networking, how confused Beast Boy was. He also remembered Cyborg's overly simplified - and albeit defeated - answer of "The lights turn on at night."

He made his way to the elevator and when he entered, pressed the button for the basement floor. It was one of his favorite places to practice solo. Thirty-five feet from floor to ceiling and coolly air-conditioned, the tower's storage unit had plenty of room for him to work without the hassle of distraction.

The machine beeped and halted its descent with a slow brake before the double doors opened with a ding. Robin entered the somewhat lit and enormous room and took in a deep breath. It filled his lungs to their fullest, and a faint smile crossed his face. He scanned to his left and right and, seeing no one in sight, removed his cape and the top of his uniform.

Robin stood up straight and breathed in once again. He brought his right fist up slowly to his left palm and held both hands in front of his chest as he lowered his head and closed his eyes. He focused his mind and let out the held breath.

"You have good form."

Robin brought his fists about to defend against an opponent that wasn't any where to be seen. He turned left, then right, then left again as he spun a complete circuit looking for the source of the voice.

"Up here."

The young leader looked up and saw the violet form of the newest "member" of his team hanging on the scaffold bars.

"What are you doing up there?"

"I guess the same thing as you." Garrick said without a note of sarcasm.

"But why here?"

"Why indeed?" He said, again in his ever-calm and controlled voice. "I guess if it's anything, it's the smell…"

"What?"

Garrick turned his body around on the bar and began to swing himself back and forth. With enough momentum, he let go of the metal and launched himself forward. It appeared as if he was going to smack right into the side of a crate, but he deftly turned his body and planted his feet on the side of the wooden box. He pushed himself off and landed harmlessly to the ground in front of the shirtless leader. "The smell. The somewhat old smell invigorates me for some reason. Not old like the people who have lived past their time, but the aroma of a room that hasn't felt a gust of fresh air in centuries; like an old tomb. It brings back memories."

"Okay… well, since you're here, I have just a few more questions for you."

"I guess I didn't tell my story well enough, my apologies."

"Not about that. Beast Boy told me and the others some about what happened between you and Raven."

Garrick's heart skipped a beat at the completion of that sentence.

"What did you mean when you said she won't need as much time as we think?"

Garrick closed his eyes as he answered. "You misunderstand. I said,_ perhaps_ she won't need as much time as you think. Meaning I am not sure. She had some questions for me, and I answered them. Based on her reactions, I can not tell what she plans to do with the information she has received."

_He didn't mention anything about what Beast Boy saw or told us, _Robin thought. _ Information from this guy is starting to get too fragile. I can't tell if I can trust what he says, but at the same time there's no reason for me to doubt him either. I guess the only way to get the real truth about what happened is to ask Raven. Best I not let him know what Beast Boy told us._

"I have another question. Last week when we fought you, Cyborg fired at you with his Sonic Cannon, but you did something and just smacked it away. How did you do that?"

"Actually, I'm not very sure."

"_What!?_" Robin's exclamation echoed throughout the large storage room. Garrick waited for the echoes to pass before going back to his answer.

"Well, I take that back. Essentially, I don't know how I am able to do it. When I was younger, I found I had dormant magic living within me that lied hidden and inactive for years. However, unlike most mages who just studied the energy, I trained it to do some very interesting things and picked up a few tricks along the way. I covered my hand with this chakra and redirected the sound waves from your friend's attack, though I am sorry for the consequence of that action. I did not intend to put Terra in harm's way.

"Regardless, I prefer not to use those techniques. They feel…unnatural. I prefer to use my own abilities when I can. Although, there are a few techniques that I use when the time calls for it."

"You mind if I see those?"

"If I continue to fight by your side, I guarantee that you will get your chance."

"Well, I've got an idea. I know I came down here to get some training in, but I just don't feel the mood anymore. What do you say we get cleaned up, dressed, and go out for lunch as a team?"

"I'm not sure but, it is your call."

"Come on, there's a bathroom on every floor but this one. Let's go and you can get to know the team a little better."

Garrick sighed, but moved towards the elevator to grab his things.

OoOoO

A/N: Hey! Done with this chapter. Don't forget to review.


	6. The Snowflake that starts an Avalanche

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans or Forgotten Realms. Garrick is an Original Character and property of neither organization.

\_/\_/\_/\_/

**Chapter VI: The Snowflake that Starts an Avalanche**

Garrick gathered his things and entered the elevator with Robin as the boy put his red uniform back on. He sat on the floor and began putting his boots back on when Robin turned to him.

"I know something happened between you and Raven, and maybe I'll find out in time, but know that it's rare for her to trust anyone this soon. Whatever happened between you two, I doubt that it will be enough to convince her otherwise." For some reason, the little bit of gentleness that was in his voice before was gone now, and he sounded almost as cold as Garrick. Then, as if answering the question building in Garrick's mind, he shrugged. "She's just stubborn like that."

Garrick simply looked into space and, after a few seconds, replied with an acknowledging "hmm" as he continued to put his thin-soled dark purple boots back on. The bell gave a ding and Robin stepped through the open doors. "There's a pool on the fifth floor if you feel like relaxing a little before lunch. It's not used all that often so you'll get some alone time if that's what you were looking for. I'll contact you in either an hour or when everyone's ready." The door slid closed and the quiet solitude found Garrick once again.

He stood up and reluctantly pressed the button for the fifth floor. As the room began to move, the boy found himself lost in his thoughts once again. _That came out of the blue. Why would he tell me that? What would he have to gain? It could be a trap. But if it is, then I'll just set it off. And anyways, if they do have something in store for me, do I really deserve anything less. I held their comrade hostage at death's door. I am lucky they did not try to kill me in the middle of the night. Although if they did, they would probably be disappointed to see me still awake. On another note, why is it that my thoughts have been coming back to that demoness? Not only is the thought absurd, but it completely hypocricizes everything about me. I never felt more just than when I spilt demon blood back home with Drizzt, and even after my departure. But, this girl…_

The bell gave another ding and opened into a wide, tiled chamber in which Garrick entered. The pool, which was a third the size of a football field being seventeen feet wide and a hundred feet long, hugged the opposite side of the room in order to make room for the well-sized saunas, about twenty feet to the left and right of the elevator, and the equally well-sized hot tub, the same distance to the door's left. _I guess the public is very thankful for their work._ He walked to the edge of the pool and placed his things onto the floor before stripping down to the bare skin and diving hands-first and headlong into the cold water.

OoOoO

"You did what?" Robin asked incredulously.

"I read into his memories." Raven replied putting her hands on the knees of her crossed legs and leaning over. "Listen, I know you put him on some kind of probation period or whatever, but I had a check in my spirit and I listened to it. You can't blame me for listening to my gut." Raven was starting to get angry now and turned her back to Robin to continue her meditations.

"I wasn't blaming you."

Raven lifted one eye open.

"I just didn't know that you could do that. I mean, I've experienced first-hand what you can do with people's minds, but I guess I didn't know the half of it."

Raven remembered what incident to which he was referring. Robin had unintentionally inhaled a hallucinogen that Slade had implanted in the dust of one of his masks, causing the Titan to create a delusion that would cause him real, though entirely psychosomatic, harm. Raven had forced a part of her spirit into her teammate's mind in order to see what he saw, and it was all too real.

"So what did you see?" He asked after an uncomfortable silence.

Raven turned around and gave him a grim look. "Well, unless he knows a way to create an undeniably real denial, no pun intended, the first part of his story is true, but…" She trailed off, her eyes leading down to the floor. Emotion began to well up inside her again.

"But…"

"But that was as far as I could go." She turned around again, not wanting him to see her so emotionally shaken. "I'm sorry, but the massacre he described was all too real, even for me, to endure. I'll have to try again another time."

"I see. You know, it's really weird. For someone with such rocky beginnings, he didn't turn out as bad as–"

"Or that's what we're still trying to find out."

"Right. Speaking of which, we're all going out to lunch. When you're ready, we'll meet you in the Commons."

"Wait! When you say 'We', do you mean–" she turned back to him but he was already out the door.

Raven let out a resigned and frustrated sigh while she rubbed her temples. She needed some kind of release from all the anxiety built up from the last week. Both the sauna and hot tub upstairs were rarely used.

OoOoO

Robin made his way down to the Commons Room. On the way, he saw Cyborg further down the hall. "Hey Cyborg."

"Hmm?" He said as he turned around. "Hey Rob. What's up?"

Robin strode up to him and asked, "Could you call Beast Boy and Terra to meet the team in the Common's later? We're going out to lunch."

"Yeah, sure. But what about the others?"

"Raven's getting her meditations in, the new guy's taking a shower, and I'm gonna go tell Starfire myself."

"Alright. What do you want us to do until y'all are done?"

"Just hang out. It shouldn't be any longer than an hour. I'm sure you guys can think of stuff to do until then." Robin turned and began to make his way to Starfire's room.

"You know she can't control her strength. Don't let her hurt you too much LoverBoy-Wonder!"

Robin just sunk his head, clenched his fists and teeth, and continued down the hall muttering curses.

OoOoO

_I feel like I haven't slept in days._ Raven rubbed the back of her neck with her small hands and tried to knead some softness into it, but failed miserably. _Hard as rock, _she thought to herself. _It doesn't surprise me though. That spell takes a large toll on the user's body and energy. I haven't used it since Malchior…_Her thoughts fell back to the deceptive dragon who had tricked her into breaking a curse that bound him to the book in which she had found him. His name was really Rorek, but Raven liked to remember him as Malchior. _Even though it's not his real name, I remember him like that in an attempt to bring back only the good memories of the man I thought I… really…could have…_She shook her head to throw away both the tear rimming her eye and the memory of her misplaced emotions.

_Anyways, maybe I've been too hard on Garrick. I doubt he's able to focus so hard on an illusion in his own mind that even I, probing around in his head, wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Though, that mental barrier of his was quite impressive. Who knows? Maybe he _is_ capable of something like that if he's able to train his mind so hard that he can even repel basic enchantment and domination spells._

She reached the elevator door, pressed the button, and waited for it to open. She let out a long exasperated sigh and tried hard not to think too much about the whole situation, but failed again. _Why am I so focused on him? He almost killed Starfire, that's why! I have to stand strong that until he proves his intentions otherwise, I will continue to question and prod until I get the answers I need. _The door opened and Raven entered the small room and pressed the button for the fifth floor. Then, she leaned her head against the wall with her arms crossed over her breast and eyes closed.

The door slid open and Raven stepped into the tiled room. She disrobed and covered herself with a towel hanging on the rack right next to the door she had entered. She walked over to the sauna and had her hand on the wooden door handle when something caught her eye from the corner.

In the far left corner of the room, half-submerged in the pool, sat Garrick. 'Lay' would probably be a better term, as he was resting his head on his crossed arms across the floor. Raven couldn't see him before because the boys' sauna on the other side of the room obstructed her view, so she could only hope that he didn't see her change. Raven's face began to redden at the thought, but the blood drained away from her face when she saw his shirtless back.

And the scars that covered it.

Three thick bands of white streaked across his skin from right shoulder to left hip as if an enormous claw had raked him across the back. A splotch of white showed on the right side of his lower back. And a perfect circle just to left of his spine showed as well.

"Excuse me, but what do you think you're doing here?" Raven shouted at the boy for some reason she didn't know. But he didn't move. "Hey! You're a guest here so don't think you can just roam around and do whatever you want!"

Garrick picked his head up from the floor and turned to look at the grey-skinned girl. She stood there covered only in a towel and a feeling he had never experienced before overwhelmed him. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off the demoness for the few seconds that felt like hours. Her legs were deceptively long for a girl of her stature. Her hourglass figure only amplified the roundness of her hips. The glassy smooth skin reflected the light of the room perfectly. Her breast… he looked away the second his eyes trailed there and a hint of red showed up. Not because he believed it was wrong or anything, it's just a respect thing.

"Don't look away when I'm talking to you!"

"Robin gave me permission to use these facilities. But if you wish me to leave, then fine." He pulled himself up out of the water and Raven first realized that he was actually naked.

Raven's mouth was stuck agape with pure shock. She struggled to take her eyes of the boy's backside, but only managed to do so when he began to turn to pick up his equipment from the floor, which she hadn't seen until just that moment. She instantly turned around when he began to do so and barked out, "What the hell are you doing in the pool naked!? You don't live here so you don't have the right to do stuff like that!"

Garrick put on his mask and looked back at the pool confused. "Robin told me I should bathe."

"Then use the shower!" _From his time, that was how he bathed. Maybe he doesn't understand the concept. I guess, for as smart as he is, he still has some things to learn about our culture._ Raven began to turn around to see if he was leaving yet but had to turn back quickly since he just stood there, naked, though luckily with his clothes and equipment unintentionally covering his more private area, looking at her confused. "And put your clothes on!" _Okay now this is something I know he understands._

It's not that he didn't hear her, he just didn't mind being unclothed. It just felt more natural. It felt good, and he was not ashamed of his body. Not proud, but not ashamed either. He just shook his head and headed back to the elevator door.

When she heard the elevator door ring, Raven peeked on eye open and turned around to make sure he had entered the door. When she saw the door close and Garrick was nowhere to be seen. She gave out a relieved breath and entered the steam room.

She poured the water over the hot rocks, removed the towel from her body, and relaxed as she let the hot steam roll over her. "Damn," she breathed out. "I didn't see his face."

OoOoO

Raven entered the commons through the sliding doors and scanned the room. Everyone glanced at her but for Garrick, who stood leaning against a wall in the corner and staring out one of the large windows.

"Are you ready to leave Raven?" Robin asked.

She stole another glance at Garrick but his gaze never shifted. "Yeah, I'm ready."

"Sweet, let's go." Said Beast Boy.

The team dispersed to their own methods of travel. Robin and Starfire took the R-Cycle while Beast Boy flew as a pterodactyl carrying Terra on his back. Raven resigned herself to the T-car with Cyborg as did Garrick, strangely enough.

As soon as Garrick took his seat in the back next to Raven, the Titan quickly looked out her side of the window, hiding a shade of pink on her face, while the substitute Teen Titan next to her acted as if nothing happened. Cyborg took a quick glance in the rear-view mirror, seeing both teens with their arms crossed and staring out the windows. The only difference in their postures was that Raven had one leg crossed over the other. Cyborg may have been able to fight down the chuckle building inside his chest, but let the smile show on his face.

They pulled up to the second-story pizza parlor on the intersection with the noticeable parasail that was their favorite spot. The three of them got out the car and met with Robin and Starfire a few moments later. The five of them went inside and a girl with long brown hair up in a ponytail greeted them. She must have been eighteen to twenty years old. Garrick kept his head on a slow swivel taking in all the details of his surroundings should such an occasion require it. "Why if it isn't our favorite customers! Oh, and you brought a friend as well," the girl squealed. Robin walked to the counter with Starfire on his arm while everyone else made their way up the stairs to their favorite table. The girl had sparkles in her eyes, which he tried to ignore by pretending to look at the menu hanging just above her head. Starfire noticed it though, and fought to keep a smile on her face, with an obvious twitch present in one cheek. Ironically, as one of the Teen Titans' kindest members, the level of her jealousy was off the charts.

"Well, I think we'll take one pepperoni and one full veggie."

"Not a problem. We've reserved your favorite table for you just incase." The girl flashed another bright smile. If it was any bigger her cheeks might cramp.

"Thank you very much." Starfire replied through her unmoving and fake smile as she pulled Robin up the staircase. On the second story, Beast Boy and Terra had just dropped in from the air.

"Hey guys." Terra said waving her hand. The couple took their seats, as did the rest. Garrick sat down in the chair closest to the balcony. "So…." Terra said in an attempt to start a conversation. "Garrick," the boy looked to her with his stoic face. "I, uh, like you're costume."

"…" He blinked. The expression on his face told that he obviously didn't know how to respond. "Is there something specific about it that has piques your interest?"

"Well, uh, nothing specific. It's just unique is all" The Titans could feel the tension in the air. _With this guy, no one knows what might happen, he's too unpredictable._ Garrick closed his eyes and lowered his head.

"Thank you…" Everyone released his or her held breaths. "It's… my favorite color."

"Wah…? Really?" Beast Boy asked.

"Actually," He leaned forward and ran a hand over one of the plates covering his arm. "I was considering using a platinum alloy for the color, or the mithril since it has the same color _and_ it's lighter. I really do like silver as well. But I settled with the darksteel, it was cheaper." Every word that came from his lips was so emotionless, so empty. It was somewhat creepy.

"Right." Cyborg replied. _So this guy's a designer too? Purple and silver outfit?_ He looked over to Starfire and glanced at her uniform.

"This outfit serves a purpose; the fabric is a self-regenerating cloth. I've worn it for many years and if I am cut, it will sew itself back seamlessly. The downside is that it's difficult to get into since it is all one piece, you've got to cut yourself out."

"You gotta be kidding." Terra gasped.

"As long as you pull the outfit away from your body before you cut, you can refrain from harming yourself." His hand fell down to the sash tied about his hips that held the sheaths of his weapons to his sides. "This sash was a parting gift from Master Drizzt. If it has any properties, I've yet to learn their purpose."

"And the armor?" Robin asked.

"What about it?"

"You don't exactly have the most protection."

"Like you, I prefer to rely on my athleticism and agility to their fullest. Covering the joints of my body and other parts with a range of motion only hinders movement and slows the individual down."

"And what if all that agility fails you?" Raven asked not too kindly.

"I try to find a way to survive." The two held the others gaze unerringly, like at any moment one would strike the other. "If you any other questions I will answer them obligingly." He said, almost as if it were a challenge.

"Have you ever had a girlfriend?"

"I beg your pardon?"

If the Titans weren't tense before they were now. "Oh yes! You must tell us! Have you ever done 'the kissing' with a companion as well?" Except for Starfire.

Garrick's eyes widened a bit and looked back to Raven, and the smirk across her face.

"S-She… We didn't even … and then…" Garrick looked down at the table; his eyes gray. "Kiara…" he said sadly; his voice trembling. He became angry and his orbs swirled a stormy green. "That is no business for _any _of you to know."

"But we asked. Didn't you say you would answer?"

Garrick narrowed his eyes and said nothing.

"Raven that's a bit too far." Robin said, trying to calm the growing tension between the two teens.

"Her name is Kiara, and you will not disrespect her memory in such a way!"

"What happened?"

"Okay, Raven I think that's enough."

"I don't know."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Raven furrowed her eyebrows.

"I remember almost my whole life except for the last of my final journey before becoming encased in that coffin. But that doesn't even matter now." Garrick turned away from the group and looked down at the busy streets. "Because I've been here far too long anyway. I can feel it in every step I take. Wherever Kiara is now… she's d-…" he stopped himself, "… gone."

"Garrick we need to tell you something." Beast Boy said, but the tall warrior said nothing. "That thing we found you in, it's been here a long time."

"How long?" he asked sadly after a brief pause, still not looking back from leaning over the balcony.

The team exchanged worried glances to each other. Even Raven, who only wanted to get under the boy's skin, not hurt him.

"How long?" he repeated more forcefully.

"Our scientists estimate about… three thousand years." Raven answered. And the boys head visibly dropped as if he already knew the answer.

"No matter where she is, she's…" Garrick began, but couldn't finish.

"I'm sorry man." Cyborg reached over and placed his huge hand on the young man's shoulder, tapping the pauldron. And he accepted it.

"I can't even remember if we succeeded in our mission or not."

"You're here. So you must have succeeded." Robin replied.

"Delivery time!" The waitress from the front counter walked to the team's table carrying a platform with the two plates of pizza. She placed the plates in the middle of the table and flashed a big smile. "Enjoy." She turned back to the staircase to return to work, but stopped at the first step and glanced once again at the black-haired boy and sighed.

Robin felt a chill come up his spine for a second.

"Let's dig in guys." Cyborg exclaimed with a big smile on his face. Everyone grabbed a slice and placed it on their plate except for Garrick who merely stared at the greasy meat-dotted concoction. Cyborg saw Garrick's discontent face. "Come on man. I know it's new to you but try it."

"Yeah." Beast Boy muffled out with a long string of cheese dipping from his lips to the slice of pizza in front of him. Garrick gazed at the pie with a look of frustration, then turned his eyes back up to Raven who was quietly munching on her slice, her eyes down. She looked back up and the two pairs of eyes connected.

"My apologies, but I'm not exactly in the mood to eat right now." He rose from the table. "I will meet you all back at your home."

"We still need to talk."

Garrick let out a long sigh, and sat back down with his elbows on his knees. What would it take to convince this one? He's told her nearly everything, and he's even allowed her to use a memory retrieval spell on him. Garrick looked back up to the violet-haired girl. "I don't know what else I can tell you."

"Then how about we tell you some things that _you_ don't know." Garrick looked at her vexed. "You're coffin was stolen by two relatively unknown thieves when we found it. They had protection: a group of machines that was manufactured by a not-so-good friend of ours, Slade. We tracked the thieves down and arrested them, but later that night the arresting officers found the two dead in their cell."

"Slade had to have some kind of connection to Aggie and Lee. It wouldn't be a problem for Slade to sneak in to a regular Level 1 security cell." Terra remarked.

"Do you think that he hired them to steal the thing for him?" Beast boy asked.

"Then he got rid of the two for not delivering. I've been trying to put it together and figured _that_ out at least. Seems like Raven did too." Robin surmised.

"But in the past, Slade only wanted to steal advanced technology. What would he want with our friend Garrick?" Starfire purposed.

"Remember the fire monster when we first met Thunder and Lightning? We do know that he has some kind of knowledge in magic, right?" Robin looked to Raven.

"Conjuration at least. But summoning an elemental is pretty tough unless he had something, some device to help him. Anyways, his ceremony seemed more ritualistic than mystical at the time so to the extent of his abilities I'm still not sure."

"But if he did hire Aggie and Lee to steal the sarcophagus for him, then he must want it for something." said Cyborg.

"Either that or he wants…" Robin's voiced trailed off as he turned to look at Garrick, and everyone else mimicked his movement.

Garrick looked back at the team. "What is it that could make me so interesting to this Slade?" he answered without missing anything from the conversation.

"Maybe he's still looking for an apprentice." Terra said.

"But how could he possibly know that the sarcophagus contained Garrick within?" Starfire asked.

"Slade has always known more than he lets off. That's something else that we're going to have to figure out ourselves." answered Robin.

"Except that part won't be so easy." Cyborg agreed.

"Garrick, do you have any idea at all how you got here? What was the last thing you remember?" asked Terra.

"I'm not sure. When my prison opened, I didn't know where I was, or anything about being captured; if indeed that was the case. All I remember is traveling with Kiara and some other friends from Neverwinter. It all fades to black after that."

"I'm still having trouble figuring out the interdimensional travel." Raven said.

"Aww man, not this again. I just got over my headache from yesterday." Beast Boy complained just before the back of his boxers was pulled up behind and over his head by a mystical black force. "Ow ow ow oww, what gives?" Beast Boy pulled the garment off and glared back at Raven. "Why do you always do stuff like that?"

"Because by complaining you don't focus on the task at hand."

"Why don't you just go stick your nose in one of your books or something."

Raven raised her hand to her chin in thought. "That's not a bad idea. I think I just might have something that'll help."

"Really? Hmm."

"That's new."

"Cyborg!"

The robotic teen only smiled as he ate three more slices of pizza all at once.

OoOoO

A dark figure sat in his iron throne staring at a large screen. The dimly lit room gave off a soft orange glow. Most likely from the various furnaces used to forge the metallic armor for the many constructs under his command. The gears and machinations let out a constant ring of steel on steel, a sound he had been able to tune out after all the years of hearing the same resonating echo over and over again. His one uncovered eye narrowed its gaze at the picture of seven teens of the rooftop. He placed his chin on his folded hands and leaned forward as the picture zoomed in on the form of a teen boy in dark violet armor. "There you are." He cooed in his sickeningly sweet, yet resonating, voice. "I sure hope the trip didn't harm your abilities. Now, let's see if the tales were true. A little, test." His strong hand pressed down on a silver button built in the chair's armrest. Immediately, a picture of a gangly Asian man with a pair of red goggles over his eyes appeared next to the frame of the rooftop. "Professor Chang, release Cerastes."

"B-b-but Master, that particular model is not yet ready. There are still many bugs yet to be worked on and it is still unstable. Wouldn't you prefer to use Chiroptera instead?"

"No. I have my reasons for not using _that_ model, I need Cerastes. Thirty-fourth and Livingston in the Metropolitan District. Besides, its instability will make it all the more interesting." Normally, he would have accused the strangely-proportioned man of insubordination and threatened to expose him to the authorities for his unwillingness to cooperate. He had the means to do so without endangering himself. But he was in too good of a mood to do so at the moment. "And Professor," he continued before the scientist could leave to fulfill his task, "The Golems need upgrades."

"Is there something wrong in particular? Did the cloaking mechanisms not operate to your liking?"

"The cloaking devices work perfectly. But the Golems themselves are too slow. Eight days ago, three subjects were able to take down all of them."

"All of them you say? Why did you not call me earlier? I would have been done by now."

"I needed you to work on Cerastes and my other projects. They served their purpose anyway. They were never meant to destroy the children, only delay them. But, the plan failed because of inadequate follow-through. Doesn't that sort of thing just irritate you Professor? When people don't _do_ what their _told_?"

The scientist understood the threat and replied with a hurried "Y-y-yes sir. I will do so." The screen clicked off.

The dark figure gazed back at the image of the lightly armored boy. "Now let's see what you can do."

OoOoO

Garrick continued to stir his water as the team ate their pizza. His enhanced eyes picked up the stares of the other patrons looking at him strangely. And when he moved his eyes their way, they would turn their backs almost as if they were instinctively afraid of the young man. Why? He had yet to do anything wrong. He brought no weapons with him today – against his better judgment, but he still needed to prove his loyalty to this group that had given him shelter – and his gauntlet-blade was withdrawn. His superior hearing picked up on the little conversations concerning him and, once again, he did not like what he heard.

_Who is that?_

_Isn't he strange looking?_

_What's with the gay outfit?_

_Is he looking at us?_

_Why's he wearing a mask?_

_He looks so angry._

_I'd kick his ass if he came over here._

_I dare him to look this way again._

_It's true! That bracelet has a knife that comes right out of it._

_I heard he stabbed yesterday's monster right in the heart._

_Really? The Titans never do things like that._

_You think he's a new Titan?_

_No, they wouldn't join with someone who did those sorts of things._

Garrick closed his eyes and furrowed his brow trying to drown out the many dialogues. He stirred his water some more. _Since when do people need an excuse to be afraid of anything?_ he thought to himself.

"Garrick, y'alright man?"

"I'm fi- do you feel that?" He looked down at his water and the many waves rippling across its surface. The customers began looking at each other strangely as the vibrating became stronger and stronger.

"What's going on? Jump City doesn't get earthquakes." Beast Boy exclaimed. The whole building was shaking. Glasses of drinks fell off the rattling tables and shattered onto the tiled floor. People ran for the staircase, screaming, in an attempt for cover.

"Just ones you can't feel." Terra responded. Her eyes glowed yellow for a few seconds and the other Titans stared at her, waiting. "This isn't an earthquake! Something's digging underground!" Her eyes shot open as they returned their normal blue color. "Move!" All the tiles under each seat shoved every other member back to the middle of the rooftop. Meanwhile, an enormous object shot straight up into the air, blasting off the end of the store exactly where their table had been.

Taking Terra along with it.

"Terra!" Beast Boy screamed out. He morphed into a pterodactyl and grabbed the frail girl mid-descent in his curled talons, gently. Bringing her back down onto solid ground, he looked over her to inspect any damage.

Her eyes were closed.

And she wasn't moving.

Raven ran over to the two and opened a dark portal into which the three descended. They came up in the street in front of the store. And in front of the thing that destroyed it. Neither Beast Boy nor Raven saw the sharp projectile accelerating toward the both of them.

OoOoO

Garrick, Cyborg, Starfire, and Robin looked up at the hundred-foot-tall serpentine mechanical monster. Its cylindrical body was covered in thousands of hooked curving spikes that seemed to wiggle slowly left and right. The triangular head peered down at them, leering menacingly in its white armor, with fangs as long as street signs dripping with a deep purple liquid. Four ram-like horns, two on each side, adorned the crown.

And they all began to glow.

"Go!" Robin fired his grappling hook, wrapping it around one of the smaller spikes along its back. Starfire flew off, zig-zagging through the air, firing as many starbolts as quickly as possible. Cyborg aimed his sonic cannon and fired at the main body, trying to put in some kind of damage. The four horns whirred as they each fired a constant beam of bright green energy. Cyborg just barely managed to dodge the attack before he leapt away to the side to avoid the continually oncoming beams.

Garrick ran.

OoOoO

Garrick sprinted to the balcony and leaped off the edge. He landed perfectly on his feet and kept running. He saw the hooped spike quiver as if there was something wrong and he raced between the snake and his teammates as it shot out. Raven turned just as the gnarled metal was about to slash at her face. But Garrick launched himself forward, the hook sticking him straight in the back. "Get her out of here. Take her back to the tower." His voice shook with pain.

"Garrick!"

The boy groaned, "I'm fine."

"No you're not."

The purple warrior reached behind his back and grabbed the hook.

"Stop!"

Too late. Garrick withdrew the metal and showed it to Raven. It was clean.

Raven stared at it incredulously. "But-"

The masked fighter turned around and showed her where the projectile struck him in the back of his armor. "That is another reason I don't complain about how little protection I have." Garrick turned back to the geomancer and placed one hand on her chest over her heart to feel for a beat and another on her head to check for any bleeding. Her heart was beating and there was a spot on her head damp with blood where something struck it hard.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Beast Boy asked. His voice trembled.

"We can't know for sure until-"

"Yes." Garrick interrupted Raven. "As soon as we get rid of this thing, we'll look at her. But until then, get her back to the tower and keep her safe unless she feels that she can fight again."

Raven nodded and the three flew off in the form of a giant silhouette of a bird towards their home.

OoOoO

Cyborg dodged another beam of green energy. "Damn, I can't do anything but run. How about some help guys!"

Robin withdrew another grappling hook from his belt and flung it around one of the horns. "Starfire! Let's bring this big guy down!" Starfire threw one last starbolt before flying under the machine's hissing maw, grabbed the two cords, and pulled down with all her strength. The lasers kept firing even as the alien princess pulled the creation down to the street. She held Robin in the air as the monster began its decent and the two landedsoftly on the ground as Cyborg jumped off the roof and landed behind the two.

"Oversized _worm_ didn't know who he was _messin'_ with!" Cyborg announced, pounding one fist into one open palm.

Garrick stood before the fallen monster as it was twitching from the strength of the impact. "I sent the others home to watch Terra and help her recover."

"Good. I would have done the same." Robin agreed.

"Now if you don't mind, I would like to finish this myself."

"Say what!?" Cyborg exclaimed.

"No, you cannot! You have no weapons!"

"Garrick there is no room for showboating on this team. That's not the way we-"

"I still have yet to prove to you my loyalty. If you won't let me show you my true intentions, then you will never trust me."

"Yeah, but Garr-"

"Besides, didn't you want to see those moves I promised you this morning?"

Robin finally understood. Garrick didn't want to prove himself. He needed to. He had to. That driving force that urges every warrior to protect something. That is what was driving Garrick right now. And Garrick was right. If he just went along for the ride then he wouldn't have been sacrificing anything important. There would still be room for speculation that he let them be used as decoys or he hid whole the others fought, or anything else their doubt could think up. But one-on-one combat, there can be no doubt, no suspicion. This way, it's all or nothing. This was true honor. And true loyalty. "Don't make us bury you."

Garrick walked towards the mechanical serpent as it finally was able to roll on its belly. He held out each hand as if gripping some invisible weapons. "_Runyahyanda_" in his right hand bust forth a straight sword made entirely of flames. "_Khelekhyanda_" The air beside his left hand solidified into the outline of a curving sword, and in moments a scimitar constructed wholly of ice formed in his grip.

"Whoa…" Cyborg gasped out.

"Amazing…" Starfire agreed.

Robin just stared in wonder, the whites of his mask expanding as his eyes widened.

Garrick looked back at them, "If I don't finish in fifteen minutes, consider me dead."

OoOoO

Chapter six is finished!!!!!!! Sorry it took so long! But I got a good 3000 words done last night. Next chap. Should be relatively short. 4000 words or so.


	7. The Serpent and The Blade

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans, as they are property of Warner Brothers Inc. and DC Comics. I do not own Forgotten Realms, as they are property of Dungeons & Dragons and Wizards of the Coast. I do own Garrick as he is my own Original Character, but I won't sue you if you use him (especially the ladies………… sorry, no offense meant).

**Chapter VII: The Serpent and the Blade**

Garrick sprinted to the white armored machine, flaming sword and frozen blade in hand. He leapt onto the monster's elongated snout and stabbed the sword and scimitar into the snake's nostrils. It rose into the air, muzzle sparking, and slammed the tip of its face into a nearby brick skyscraper. Garrick jumped behind its head just before the impact and hooked his weapons into the grooves of the monsters hooked ridges.

"What is the meaning of this Robin? How does he bring the fire and cold from nothingness? What will happen in fifteen minutes? And why are we allowing him to venture off into danger unassisted?"

Robin shook his head. "I don't know Starfire. It's just, something he has to do." The Titan leader looked past the alien to Cyborg. The robotic teen nodded back at him as if he understood his train of thought exactly. As a former athlete, Cyborg understood the need to prove one's self to others. To do whatever it takes to get the job done.

Whatever it takes.

"C'mon Star, we need to get these people out of here." Cyborg said to the worried female, placing his hand on her shoulder. She looked back at him with worry still in her eyes. "He'll be fine. Gave us a run for our money remember?" He reassured her with a soft smile. "Three Titans all by himself? There's nothing to worry about." She nodded and flew back into the damaged store looking for civilians.

Robin walked to Cyborg's side. They turned back to the battle as one of the snake's horns fell into the street with a crash.

"Get a timer running. And keep an eye on him." Robin instructed.

"Sure thing."

Robin ran back inside, easily hopping over the debris from the monster's first crater. Cyborg looked back to see Garrick clinging by his impaled weapons onto the back of the limbless mech, one side of it turning red from the heat, the other side frosting over. Cyborg tapped his left temple. His left eye began to twist. One, two, three circuits it turned before the red glass orb, trailed by a short metal tentacle, fell out of its socket into his waiting hand. He placed the device on the ground and tapped into his right forearm-computer, telling the machine to record everything it saw. The end of the tentacle split apart into four smaller ones and began walking away, keeping fixated on the violet-armored boy. At the same time, a small metal door slid shut over the empty gap where the eye had once been. With that done, Cyborg left to go help his friends.

OoOoO

Garrick climbed up the back of the reptile one hook at a time, keeping hold of his weapons as he did so, as it tried to shake him off. He chose these particular weapons because they were immaterial, meaning he could attack with them, but not parry or defend. And against an opponent of this size there was no need to defend, its sheer size would break through any defense he had. But he needed to destroy it before it caused any more damage.

He climbed up the creature's back to the rear of its head. He stabbed the ice blade into the plate armor and grabbed one hook with his free left hand. He leaned over and sliced one of the smaller horns clean off with the fiery sword. It collapsed to the ground with a crash.

Garrick pulled himself back, grabbed his freezing scimitar which had frost creeping down along the left side of the snake's neck, and stabbed the flaming sword into the armor next to the first weapon. Now he just held on as his opponent thrashed wildly, twisting and contorting its body.

The monster pulled its head up, turned its body one hundred and eighty degrees, and slammed its back on the pavement, rolling several times. Luck saved Garrick, as he was just close enough to the head of the beast to be in a gap that separated its neck from the road, saving him from the death roll.

The longer the red-orange sword stayed in the metal, the hotter and redder the skin became as it spread farther along the serpent's right side. The heat continued to spread until it came into contact with the frost extending from the scimitar's and elicited a cloud of steam. The steam temporarily blinded Garrick, and he could do nothing to protect himself as he was dragged into the side of another skyscraper. He went through a window and slammed his ribs hard into a metal beam. He fell down the monster's backside, taking gashes all along his body as he rolled sixty-five feet down sharp metal grooves. Another hook sliced his arm and another cut the top of his leg. Garrick slammed into the ground and rolled along the pavement. After a few moments, he slowly pulled himself back up to his feet, taking in painful wheezing gasps.

OoOoO

Starfire flew up the stairs and found the waitress with her knees pulled to her chest and covering herself with a parasail from outside. There was another booming crash outside and the girl, her nametag said Miranda, cringed as she continued to cry. Starfire embraced her in a tight hug, the girl looked up at her and she stopped crying for a moment. "Come, we must leave this place at once. It is not safe here." Miranda hopped up and they walked down to the edge of the staircase. "Where are the others? Are there any more people trapped?"

"Yes. They're in the kitchen in the back."

The ruby-haired girl pulled out her communicator. "Robin, Cyborg, there are more people in the kitchen. Please hurry and rescue them. I will assist you as soon as possible."

"We're on it. Good job Star." Cyborg's voice came over the speaker.

Starfire led the girl out the store by the shoulders and continued down the street until they found an officer doing crowd control. "Sir, I require aid. Could you please help this woman find a safe place to stay until this is all over?" She led the young woman into the large man's arms. His nametag said, 'Officer Martinez.'

"Yeah. Where did you come from?"

"The parlor of pizza not far from our present location. Miranda has said there are still more people in need of aid. I will inform my friends of your whereabouts and tell them to return the survivors to your position."

"I'll be here, get back as soon as you can. God knows where this thing'll strike next." The Latin man turned and spoke to the young woman about where to go as Starfire flew off back to the parlor.

The girl pulled out the yellow device that connected her to her friends once again. "Robin, Cyborg, I have found an officer that can help the survivors. I am sending you his position."

"Thanks Star, that's going to help us out a lot," Robin replied to his teammate. "Raven? Come in Raven."

"I'm here." The voice said after a brief pause.

"What's Terra's condition?"

"Beast Boy left to get her a damp cloth, so I can say this more freely. It's not good. She's still unconscious and there's a lump the size of a softball on her head after a bit of healing. The bleeding there stopped, but she won't react to any stimuli so I can't judge where to start healing next. I just hope he doesn't take it too hard."

"Just try to make her comfortable. We'll be back as soon as we can. Robin out."

Starfire closed her communicator and sped her approach to the damaged restaurant. She turned her attention back to the giant machine and gasped when she saw Garrick clinging onto the back of the beast as it began rolling over. "No!" She began flying to Garrick's aid.

"Starfire!"

"Yo Star!"

Starfire landed in front of her friends.

"We told the survivors where to find the officer you told us about. C'mon, we gotta go see if we missed anyone." Cyborg said as he and Robin began running back to the parlor. Starfire swooped low, flying at eye level with Cyborg as the two ran.

"We must help Garrick."

The three made it to the pizza place and walked inside the main serving room downstairs. "He's been able to take care of things so far on his own." Cyborg attempted to rationalize to the girl. But even he was starting to have his doubts. "He'll be fine." They heard glass shatter as the monster dragged its back along a building on the other side of the street. Garrick began tumbling down the machine's back and landed on the ground with a thud. Starfire covered her mouth as she gasped seeing the masked boy covered in lacerations and blood. For a moment, he didn't move. "Or not." Cyborg corrected himself.

OoOoO

He ached and he bled. He watched as the monster continued to go berserk three hundred feet down the street. Garrick felt his ribs and winced. He may have broken a few. His weapons had disappeared because they left his hands. The only reason his scimitar didn't shatter when he let go of it to slice off the horn was because he was able to focus on keeping it for just long enough before gripping it again. On top of that, he felt his will begin to slip as time passed. He wondered how much time he had lost as he saw the glowing red eyes of the machine as it made its way back to him. On top of all these circumstances, one thing stood out in his mind. He had to finish this as soon as possible, before _it_ finished everything for him.

He held onto his right bicep to try to stop a deep laceration from bleeding before his suit began to repair the cut fabric. His knees shook under the weight of his body. He watched as the reptilian machine charged at him, blasting out a hiss that sounded like rock grinding against metal.

He shot out the blade in his gauntlet, watching his enemy launch itself up, intending to bury him in its jaws. Then he saw it. He turned his sights back to the store and saw Starfire, Robin, and Cyborg; Starfire, with her hands on the glass window and all of them with their mouths gaping. Garrick looked back and leapt into the drake's maw just as it slammed face first into the ground and dug its way down into the earth and rock. Only an enormous gaping hole remained where the two opponents once stood.

OoOoO

"Garrick…" Starfire said as she ran to the window. She saw the boy get up and wince as he touched his ribs, ejecting his wrist blade. "He is injured! And he no longer has his weapons!" she shouted to the two boys who kept their eyes on the fight.

"Cyborg, how long has it been?" Robin asked.

Cyborg looked down at the timer on his forearm. "Twelve minutes."

Starfire turned back to see Garrick look at her. The machine was coming back for him. The reptilian robot leapt into the air. For a moment, Starfire thought she saw a look of hope on the boy's face, but it must have just been one of shock. The monster opened its mouth and Garrick jumped into it. "No!" She screamed. The two combatants met as the snake smashed into the road, creating an enormous hole as it dug down into the earth.

The three stood in shock.

"Why…" Starfire whispered, not looking away from the crater. "Why could we not lend him our assistance!?" She turned to Robin for that question her emerald eyes misting over.

Robin was beginning to wonder that himself. Was it a poor call of judgment for the boy to want to prove himself? Was allowing him to do so one as well? Robin looked to Cyborg, but Cyborg was only staring at the ground, eye closed. Starfire ran to him and embraced him. "I'm sorry Starfire. I know you didn't know him very long, but I do know how much you hate to see things… go." Her tears began soaking into his shirt.

The ground rumbled and began to shake once again. The three looked at each other and ran back outside to the hole where the two had disappeared. Everything shook more and more violently. Buildings began to sway, not built for such phenomena. Cyborg, Robin, and Starfire peered down into the open fissure. A spray of dirt, pavement, and debris showered them from behind as the hundred-foot-high metal serpent began shaking and swinging its head back and forth, left and right. The three Titans prepared for a fight just as the metallic monster gave one final lurch. It stopped moving after that, just hung there in the air like an ominous pillar.

Then it began to fall.

"Move!" Robin shouted, and the three Titans scrambled in different directions as two hundred tons of metal and circuitry collapsed onto the road. The head landed just next to the gap it had left only a few minutes before. Cyborg walked slowly to the head, his sonic cannon aimed. Starfire flew over the body as Robin leaped over it and down onto the street. The two took their places next to Cyborg. They both prepared for any confrontation; Starfire with her starbolts and Robin with a birdarang ready. The head shook slightly and the left eye fell off. Cyborg charged his weapon as Starfire squinted her eyes in concentration. Robin tightened the grip on his projectile.

A purple body climbed out of the eye-socket covered in blood, oil, and various fluids. Shakily, he slid down the metal cheek and landed on his feet. Garrick looked up to them and stood up. His blade dripped in a multicolored mixture. The three lowered their guard and stared at him with eyes wide open. Garrick stood for only another second or two before he began to collapse from injury and exhaustion.

Robin was the closest, so he caught him. "Thank God." Garrick let out a weak chortle.

"Which one?" he said.

"Don't ever do that again."

"Are you satisfied? Do I pass the test?" Robin helped him back up and gave him a shoulder to lean on.

"Yeah. Not too shabby." They looked over to Starfire as she made her way to the serpent's head. She lifted its mouth open.

"Be careful," Garrick said. "That liquid coating its fangs, it's poison."

"How do you-" Cyborg began to ask.

"What else would you coat the fangs of a serpent with? Nngh." Garrick held his side with his free hand.

"Don't worry, we'll get you patched up as soon as we get home." Starfire gasped when she saw what it was that Garrick was so hopeful about. In the back of the roof of the monster's mouth was a gap that showed the machine's CPU that controlled everything, the snake's brain. That is why he leaped into its jaws, so he could land in that gap instead of being squashed from its mouth. Once inside, he must have destroyed the computer to bring the monster down. "Cyborg, Robin, look!" the two made their way to the serpent.

"So that's what happened? Booyah Garrick!" Cyborg shouted out.

"We need to see how Terra is doing. Let's go back to your home." Garrick replied as if the congratulation was completely unnecessary.

"Our home, all of us." Robin responded. Garrick looked him in the eyes (well, mask) and when Robin began to smile, Garrick simply nodded his head.

Robin and Starfire each held one of Garrick's shoulders over their necks, and they carried him to the amazingly undamaged T-car. They helped him into the front seat, buckling his seat belt, and then strapped themselves up in the back. Garrick leaned his head back and closed his eyes, welcoming the much-needed rest as he let out a long breath. How he hated to use those transmutation weapons, they always left him exhausted.

As Cyborg made his way back to the vehicle, he knelt down and picked up a small red orb in his hand. Blowing off any dirt or dust, he held the device to his empty left eye socket. The small door covering the orifice slid open and the eye's tail straightened out as he placed the sphere back into the cavity. It twisted three circuits with a whirring sound like an electric drill and Cyborg blinked a few times to get the focus to adjust.

"Cyborg, let's get out of here. Garrick needs some healing and we need to find out Terra's condition."

"I'm on my way."

OoOoO

Raven paced back and forth, staring at the ground. What could have happened? How is it that once again she found herself and Beast Boy on the short end of the crime-fighting stick? Of course she cares about her friends and she would do anything for them if they were injured, but that doesn't mean that she wants to be away from the action. But she will do what is necessary. She stopped her pacing and looked back at Terra, her head laid in Beast Boy's lap. He gently stroked her hair as he looked down upon her.

It had been twenty minutes since she left the group to help take care of Terra. Why was it taking so long? Could the giant snake-like machine have been that tough, or was there some other reason? With three Teen Titans and one gifted fighter, there was no reason why they shouldn't have been back ten minutes ago. Something bad must have happened.

"You're thinking something happened to them, aren't you?"

Raven looked back at Beast Boy. He never lifted his gaze from the blonde girl. Raven opened her mouth to speak but she was cut off as the door on the far side of the Commons slid open and Cyborg stepped through alone. Beast Boy and Raven looked worried, but then he stepped aside to reveal Robin, Garrick, and Starfire. Robin and Starfire each had one of Garrick's arms draped over their shoulder, carrying him, as he appeared to have passed out. Raven was feeling mixed emotions at that time. She began to smile when she first saw that her friends and Garrick were alive, but then seeing Garrick in such poor condition made her heart ache as well.

"You're alive!" Beast Boy shouted out.

"Of course we are, did you think some legless lizard was gonna stop us? We _couldn't_ lose to that thing. He ruined our lunch!" Cyborg replied.

"What happened to him?" Raven asked slightly concerned.

Robin and Starfire laid the tall warrior on the ground sitting against his sarcophagus.

"Damn kid took the thing down all by himself." Cyborg responded in a solemn tone. "Almost got himself killed."

Raven stared at the bloodstained boy. Even though his suit held no tears, wounds had soaked the fabric. Dark blemishes dotted his whole body from the blood. _He really meant it. What he said about defending us with his life, he really meant it._

"Terra!" Beast Boy exclaimed. Everyone looked to the blonde girl as her eyes fluttered open.

"My head… where are… why are we home?" she pulled herself up, rubbing the back of her skull as she did so. "What happened?"

"You got hit by some giant snake-thing. But it's okay now 'cause it's gone." Beast Boy answered her.

"Is that what was digging around under the parlor?"

"Yeah."

Terra looked back at her friends, and saw Garrick, not moving, and covered in blood. "Oh my God. No."

"Do not be worried. He is simply resting." Starfire assured her.

"But he didn't even have any weapons with him when we left."

"You should have seen it. The guy pulled these swords right out of thin air! One was all kkkrrrr…" Cyborg wiggled his fingers as he made the best interpretation of the sound of fire as he could, "and then another that was made completely of ice!"

"So what did all of you do?" Raven asked.

The three looked at each other before placing their hands behind their heads. "Crowd control."

"And an excellent job," a voice came from the side.

"Garrick!"

"I counted how many people there were at the parlor when we entered. There were twenty-three." Garrick leaned his head against the lip of the sarcophagus and blinked slowly as he took in a deep breath.

"When the creature attacked, I saw four people flee from the building, meaning that the others were in hiding somewhere inside. You saved at most nineteen people; nineteen families that will not have to make funeral arrangements, who will not mourn the death of someone they hold dear…" He opened his eyes and his blue orbs dropped a silent tear down the side of his nose as he remembered a certain someone special, "…someone they love. That is all that matters." He closed his eyes again, dropped his head in exhaustion, and fell into a deep sleep.

Cyborg looked up to Robin, his eyebrow raised in concern. "Should we tell him we only saved twelve?" Robin looked back to the sleeping form and pursed his lips, obviously conflicted.

"Robin?

"No." Raven took a step forward. "I get the feeling he wouldn't take it well."

"So, what do we do now?" Beast Boy looked up at Robin with Terra staring at the leader as well.

"Give Garrick and Terra some time to and heal. After that, we'll regroup and try to figure out what happened and why." The leader responded.

"C'mon Terra, let's get some rest." Beast Boy helped the earth Titan to her feet and the two began to make their way to the door.

Raven lifted the sleeping and bloody body of Garrick with her telekinetic powers. She turned to her leader and asked, "Robin, what about the memories?"

"Continue the sessions. I don't think anything bad will turn up, but let's not take an unnecessary chance."

Raven nodded, turned, and left the room with the resting boy.

"What does she speak of 'the memories'?" Starfire asked.

"Raven has been reading into his mind and searching his memories to be sure that he hasn't been lying to us about his past." Robin crossed his arms over his chest.

"I didn't know Raven could do that." Cyborg said.

"But is this not an invasion of the privacy?"

"Maybe, but I get the feeling it was something that he consented to. It's not like she strapped him down and forced information out of his head. But so far, Raven has told me that everything she's seen is true. Even so, that was only about a part of his childhood. The massacre, it was… too much for her." He looked down, as did the others. "But Raven is going to keep working on reading those memories until she's sure that we can trust him whole-heartedly, which is what I need your help with. Cyborg, can we see what happened with Garrick's fight?"

"Sure thing." Cyborg again removed the red orb from its place in the same fashion, eliciting a sharp _Eek! _from Starfire, and carried it to the control panel of the supercomputer in the front of the room. Cyborg typed in a series of codes on the keyboard and soon after, the keyboard slid away to the side and a square tray with a spherical bowl the same size as Cyborg's eye pressed itself up through the machinery. The metal teen placed the object in the tray, fitting perfectly, and pressed it back down into the hardware. The keyboard slid back into place and a window with a black screen and play symbol appeared on the monitor.

"What is this?" Starfire asked, staring at the screen.

"Cyborg recorded the entire fight, just to make sure Garrick didn't try anything suspicious." The three watched the fight from when Garrick leaped behind the monster's head, narrowly avoiding being crushed. They continued to watch until Starfire could bear it no longer.

"I am beginning to feel uneasy with your inability to trust our new friend."

"This 'friend' is the same person who-"

"I know. But know too that I am also a Teen Titan and not a scared child." Starfire furrowed her narrow red brows. "I have forgiven him for his misunderstanding and he has shown nothing but loyalty and truth." She turned to the screen as it showed Garrick hold on for dear life as the metal serpent thrashed violently. "And he went through all this for the sake of a trust that has still not earned." She winced when she saw Garrick smash through a window and into the side of a metal beam with a _crash _and a _ding_. "Robin, how could you be so cruel?" The frustration in her voice melted away into sadness and pain and she looked at her love with large emerald eyes.

Robin looked down at the ground then away. "Just give me some more time."

Starfire looked back at the screen. "With Slade fighting for Garrick, time may be something we do not have."

That gave Robin an idea that he decided to keep to himself for now.

OoOoO

Raven gently landed Garrick on the floor near the foot of her bed. She quickly gathered the components for the memory retrieval spell, removed Garrick's helmet, and went through the ritual chants and hand motions. The five candles burst into multicolored streams of flame and the sorceress touched Garrick's temples, rushing her through a scene of a burning desert. In the distance, Raven saw a dark line move its way over the blurry horizon to a single black spot. Garrick was probably dreaming. But she couldn't allow herself to become distracted. Who was to say when he was going to wake up? This was her best chance to get through that mental barrier while it was weak.

Or if it was still too strong for her to break through, then Garrick couldn't open it for her.

Raven closed her eyes and searched through Garrick's thoughts. She rushed through the blue space as she tried to trace his memories. She came to that mental barrier once again.

It was weaker.

She easily slid past it. Once through, Raven focused on the story he had told her and to the part about how he had been saved. When she opened her eyes, she was in a beautiful forest with silver-barked trees and sunlight sparkling through the enormous canopies a few hundred feet in the air. The gorgeous buildings built there seemed as if they had never been carved, but rather grew out of the trees themselves.

But the beauty up above was only a polar contrast to the blood-covered horror that littered the foliage and ground. Arrows scattered all throughout the floor of the forest. Raven heard something _thud _and she turned to see a human body fall down headless before a boy no more than ten years of age. She saw the back of the boy as he stood before a thin figure with two curving scimitars out to each side.

Jet-black skin, thick white hair that ran past his shoulders, fair face, and purple eyes. The thin figure had striking high cheekbones that only accentuated his pointed ears poking through his stark hair. He had on a fur-topped forest green cloak that was tattered, as if it had seen many years on the tough road. Under his boots, was a pair of barely visible anklets made of black leather with a trio of shining silver rings woven in. He wore mostly dark leather armor except for a silver chain shirt he wore underneath it all. And around his neck, on a silver chain, was a carving of the head of a unicorn made of ivory or some other kind of bone. This was Drizzt.

Drizzt kneeled down and took the boys face in one hand after he spiked the tip of one scimitar into the ground. He whispered something to the boy, but she could not hear what it was. Afterwards, he picked up the weapon and ran off away from the boy swinging his scimitars and cutting down enemies in a dancing whirlwind of bladed beauty.

When Raven was able to tear her eyes away from the sight, she looked back at the young Garrick with his back to her. She could never mistake that curling brown hair of his. She closed her eyes again and fast-forwarded three years into his psyche.

Garrick was sitting down cross-legged with a very short and somewhat plump man dangling a many-faceted ruby pendant before his eyes. Garrick was dressed in a loose black and red jerkin with a many-crossing design running down his chest and the sides of his legs and a silver cloak fallen on the ground behind him.

The ruby continued spinning before the young boy's eyes. As soon as they began to glaze over, Drizzt would step out from the shadow of the tree behind him and whack him in the side of the head with his sheathed scimitar. Garrick looked up with a scornful look, rubbing his purple-masked head. The drow only looked back down with a tilt in his neck and a smile on his face and wink at the boy. "You can't allow yourself to be drawn in. Focus your mind into a place of pure and unfaltering concentration."

"You say it like it's so simple. How am I supposed to _do _it though?"

The black-skinned elf merely gave a short chuckle. "It's up to you to find your own way as I have found mine. It's unlikely that you would survive the conditions that were forced upon me to find such a place." He smiled again as Garrick let out a frustrated sigh. "Again Regis," Drizzt said to the short man with the jewel on a gold chain.

Raven closed her eyes again and lowered her head, clasped her hands together with her index and middle fingers extended, and fast forwarded another two years.

When the world around her finished swirling and solidified, she saw the image of an older Garrick with his arms extended in front of him and his hands together with his palms facing out. There was a woman beside him with thick, curling, auburn hair and blue-green eyes. She walked behind him with a slight limp in her step as she examined his form. A bead of sweat ran down the side of his face.

"Ye should feel the energy bein' drawn out o' the pit of yer stomach. Draw it out, up yer arms and into the palms o' yer hands."

Another bead fell down his temple and collected on the violet mask covering his mouth, nose, and cheeks. His hands grew pale and bluish. A thin layer of ice formed over them, creeping up his fingers. "_Inthuul xta'rl!_" In a small burst of energy, the blue color in his hands quickly left and the ice surrounding it evaporated in a loud _Puff_! The woman looked down at the ground and shook her head. She let out a sigh then put on an amused grin, "Alright, let's try it once more. Ye're almost there youngin'."

"Come on Catti-Brie, just a little rest. I've been doing this for hours. You know how little stamina I have."

"Aye, and that's exactly why we're gonna keep goin'. Sometime ye may find yerself an enemy ye can't just beat in a matter o' minutes. Besides, it's good for ya." She slapped him roughly on the back with her eyes closed and a big pearly grin on her face. He fell on his stomach. She was stronger than she appeared.

The world around Raven swirled again. _That wasn't me_. The environment mixed into a mixed array of colors. _He must be coming out of deep sleep._ She made the proper hand sign and released herself from the spell, flying through blue space. Her spirit placed itself back into her body as Garrick began to awaken a little.

Raven levitated the boy onto her bed. He seemed to relax a little, but the expression on his face changed. "No…" he mumbled. She sat down on the edge of the bed and watched the boy, with concerned yet interested eyes, as he turned in his sleep. Raven remembered the dream of a burning desert sky and began to understand why the boy seemed so troubled.

His eyes shot open and he pulled himself up. He breathed hard a couple of times before he collected himself and walked towards the mirror. Once there, he looked down, satisfied he was no longer dreaming. Garrick looked back up. The second his eyes met the mirror he jumped back scared and landed face-first on the floor. Quickly, he turned his head and looked back at the mirror for a third time. After a few moments, he seemed content that there was no longer the image of whatever it was that so horrified him. He took a long, relieved breath.

"That's the most scared I've ever seen you."

Garrick lifted himself from the ground and lifted his upper body over the sheets. He saw Raven with a small smile on her face and a slight cock in her eyebrow. "You seem proud."

"Actually, not so much. While you were sleeping, I probed into your memories again." She got up and walked around to the other side of the bed. Garrick pulled himself all the way up and sat down. "I saw the elven village after the attack, and Drizzt's training. You didn't lie to us. But…" She sat down on the bed a few feet from him, "I didn't get a chance to see past the magic training from that woman."

"Catti-Brie."

"So there is still room for questions."

Garrick looked down. "I know I should be angry with your distrust and with the invasion of my mind, but I can't be if I know that you only did it to protect your friends."

Raven turned back to the boy.

"The world isn't black and white. If it were, then I would have complete justification to be angry with you… but the world _isn't_ black and white." He repeated, "It's confusing and harsh and gray. The right things for the wrong reasons, the wrong things for the right reasons; they all have their own way to be justified depending on the situation that guides them. I cannot be upset with you because I know that what you did was for what you believed to be the right thing to do. Even if it means nothing to you, I forgive you."

Raven looked away again and crossed her arms over her chest. "Does anything make you angry? Being so impassive to things is not only really annoying, but it's also the basis that drives people to do evil in the first place. The people we fight believe that they're doing right by their own book _too_ you know. But that's only because they're minds are so poisoned by self-interest, that they can convince themselves of the most insane things. For the most part, being neutral is _worse_ than being evil because you have the power and the choice to do something, but prefer not to. But… whatever…"

Garrick lowered his head and closed his eyes as the girl spoke. His hands clasped each other and squeezed tightly. He seemed greatly pained. "I know," he said as if defeated. "I still don't know which I am: a force of good, or just a passer-by. Does trying to understand the hearts of others, both good and bad, make me worse than those I've fought? I don't want to believe in the 'with us or against us' speech, but is that what it really boils down to? I don't know the answer. Raven," he opened his eyes but continued to look down at the floor, "is it possible to be both neutral and good at the same time?"

Raven stared at the boy in a curious way. _People don't usually delve so deeply into such simple ideas_. "You think too much."

Garrick let out a slight sigh. "Perhaps so…" He looked back up and saw the many books that lined Raven's shelves. "You have many books." he said. "I suppose there are worse ways to waste time."

"Or maybe I enjoy them."

Garrick's eye caught one particular book and he got up from the sheets and walked to the shelf. "Urban Arcana…" he took the book down and examined the brown leather bound with bronze lining. "City spell-casting?"

Raven stood up and walked next to him. She looked down at the book he held and recognized that that particular book was the one she needed to secure her theories. She took the book from Garrick's hands and threw it on the bed. She answered his questioning look with a dominating, "I'm actually using that for some research. Sorry."

Garrick narrowed his eyes in a cautious way. "I'm sure that Robin will want to meet soon to discuss the mission. I should be going so as not to be late." He turned from the bookshelf and left the room.

After the door slid shut, Raven looked back to the book on her bed. Then she noticed the stains on her sheets Garrick had left. He was still covered in fluids and oils and who knows what else. She took the sheet off her bed and looked at it. "Great." she said sarcastically. She looked down at the floor where he had been and sure enough, both spots, where she cast her spell and where he fell from the mirror, hard dark splotches on the carpet. Letting out a sigh, she wrapped the sheets around themselves with her powers, dropped them in a corner, and levitated over the bed. She looked once again at the book on her now bare mattress. "This is the one, isn't it?" She telekinetically lifted the book and began flipping through the pages.

OoOoO

The old man walked up behind Slade. Slade was standing behind the iron balcony of his research room overlooking his smelting factory. The vermillion glow faded into the blackness of the unlit ceiling. The illumination of the furnaces was enough to operate one's activities by and so Slade never found any use for installing a lighting system as pragmatic as he was. And with everything working by machine, he never needed to worry about worker's complaining over the lack of light. "Have you finished downloading the new video feed?"

"Yes sir."

"Good." He turned his back to the hundreds of completed robotic constructs and made his way back to his iron throne; never taking his arms from behind his back in that ever-so-superior way he stands and holds himself. Pride was never something he let down. Even his one-eyed mask was proof of that. He was so confident in his own abilities he even cut down one of his most important sense by half, just to prove a point.

He sat down and the old man by his side pressed a red button on a small black remote. An image of the violet armored boy appeared on the screen. '-But until then, get her back to the tower and keep her safe unless she feels that she can fight again.' the boy on the screen said.

"That was your first mistake." Slade mumbled deeply.

As Starfire and Robin slung the creature to the ground, Garrick walked next to Cyborg. Slade eyed and studied every move, gesture, and vocalization made by Garrick. When the boy demanded to fight the creature solo, Slade began to feel a strange sense of respect for the young man, a feeling mostly foreign to him. When the Substitute Titan materialized his weapons, Slade became even more intrigued. He never let himself be drawn too much into the images however, and he remained ever the analyst as he watched Garrick's every step. When the young man became blinded, "Second mistake: be aware of your own actions' consequences," when he went through a window and his body nearly wrapped itself around a steel beam, "and be aware of your own surroundings as well." After the armored figure's decent down a particularly sharp slope, his legs shook and he grasped at a gash in his arm, Slade began to lose interest. "And not exactly the most mentally tough either, it seems he has a hard time blocking out pain. Not to mention his lack of endurance: fifteen minutes is his limit. Apparently he would rather die than willingly release his… potential."

The old man standing next to the villain said nothing. He didn't even watch the screen.

Slade slid a finger forward on his armrest and the screen zoomed into the boy's face. Just when the creature charged him, Slade saw the boy see the opening he had provided for him. And Slade smiled under his mask. "But that doesn't matter in the end if he can attack an exposed weakness." Slade watched the rest of the video, with particular interest while the mechanical monstrosity slung itself around trying to rid the intruder, until Garrick kicked himself out of the machine's eye covered in fluids. "Stop."

The old man pressed the red button again and the feed halted its movements.

"Though there are still improvements to be made, I think you will do nicely my young friend. Or should I say fiend? Unfortunately, I haven't quite pushed you hard enough. But rest now." Slade stood up and walked towards a large tube on the other side of the room, filled with glowing, light blue water and a humanoid figure floating about inside. "I need you at full strength for your next test."

OoOoO

Please leave reviews. This took a lot of work. Also, by watching the number of hits, I've noticed that I lose about 60% of readers after the first chapter. (~500 hits in Ch.1 to ~200 hits in Ch.2) Please Review and tell me what you think, I look forward to flames so I can know how to make my story better. Are relations moving too quickly? Difficult descriptions? Anything? Please comment. And thank you for your support.


	8. Unanswered Questions

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans, Forgotten Realms, or any other copyrighted material. This is a non-profit fan-based story. Please support the official release. I only claim ownership of Garrick and even that is not in writing.

**Chapter VIII: Unanswered Questions**

Garrick made his way down to the elevator. Opening the door and stepping in, he leaned against the wall of the small compartment.

He tried to shake away this unexplainable feeling of weakness that had come. He was still tired. And the few minutes he did rest only brought nightmares that bled into reality. He lazily reached his arm over and pressed the button for the third floor Commons. His body tingled a bit and he started to feel lightheaded. _Perhaps I should have eaten their food before fighting… or slept. First time my discretion has ever fought back._ He kept his eyes closed; the light made him nauseous. Garrick moved his hand to cover his already closed eyes and realized that, in his hurry, he had left his helmet in Raven's room. He felt sweat begin to cover his face and his mouth was dry under the mask; the added heat from his breath floating inside his mask did nothing to help. Face flushed, felt warm to the touch, and his symptoms worsened at an exponential rate. The room finally stopped moving and the doors opened, letting in a slight, but much appreciated, breeze.

"Garrick?" Robin asked as the Substitute Titan made his way into the Commons. Garrick felt so exhausted. His steps became slower as he walked down towards the table behind the sofa. His lids drifted a bit and fluttered. The room around him seemed much less solid and began shifting about and blurring.

"Dude, are you okay?" Beast Boy's voice echoed and the green boy's blur of a body rose from the table to the disheveled young man to help. Garrick pushed him aside as the changeling attempted to assist him, either very gently or very weakly, the green boy could not tell.

"Unnhh…" Garrick muttered as he lost consciousness just as he reached out to the table to sit down. He fell forward and hit his unprotected head on the table as he collapsed onto the crimson carpet. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as his lids slid shut.

OoOoO

"He's been out for a few hours, but he's stabilized now and should be fine for a little while. We'll keep an eye on him 'till he wakes up."

Garrick's eyes fluttered open and looked around. He was lying in a medical bed and the rest of the Titans stood around Cyborg in front of a large computer screen. The screen had the silhouette of a basic human body to the left side and the name "GARRICK" above it. Over the silhouette was a slowly spinning double helix of DNA. The rest of the screen was a zoomed in view of a group of muscle fibers coated in a purple film.

"Garrick!" Beast Boy saw the armored figure begin to stir and left to his side. At this, the rest of the Titans rushed to his bed, even Terra with a roll of bandages wrapped about her skull like a ski cap.

Garrick tried pulling himself up, but felt a sharp pain in his left shoulder. He grasped at it and barely contained another yelp of pain originating from his broken ribs. Unable to hold himself up in his weakened state, the boy quickly fell back down to the medical bed.

"Careful." Starfire moved to help him up.

"STOP!" Cyborg shouted. The girl froze in her steps and stared at her metal friend. Garrick grunted his way up into a sitting position with his good right arm and turned to the same titan for an explanation. "Nobody touch him. Sorry man." Cyborg apologized truthfully. "I had to go in deep. Every test turned up negative: hair, blood, skin…"

"Nnngh…" Garrick tried not to move his arm as he gritted through the pain. "From the look of things it seems the venom has affected my muscles," he was able to pant out. "Do not mistake me; I am grateful you did it before moving deeper. Bone pain is…" he shuddered, either another symptom or out of thought only he knew, "one of the worst to endure." He looked at the giant Titan and nodded his understanding. "Thank you, I will heal soon enough. What happened?"

"It was the poison on the thing's fangs." Cyborg replied.

"But Garrick was not bitten." Starfire pointed out.

"No, it was-"

"The brain." Garrick finished.

"The poison was most likely on a hydraulic system connected to its fangs. When you cut that thing down you got that stuff all over you." Everyone took a moment to observe the multicolored fighter lying on the gurney. "Now I didn't know how it got in at first. It could have been absorbed through the skin or through the cuts and scratches like an infection from when you went rolling down Snakey's back. But then I remembered how Robin and Star helped you back into the T-car and they didn't get sick, so it most likely got in through your wounds. By the way, you two are gonna need to cleaned up soon."

"Got it." Robin replied and Starfire nodded.

"We also finally found out what it was doing."

"And what was that?" Raven asked from the back of the crowd.

"It was acting like a myostatin accelerator."

"Huh?" asked Beast Boy raising an eyebrow.

"Myostatin is a protein that limits muscle growth so they don't become a burden to the body. This poison was somehow able to force Garrick's myostatin to go haywire and shrink his muscles, making him lose control of them. The muscular system is almost directly linked to the circulatory one and that could have affected the brain causing his symptoms. If his muscles began to shrink but his veins, capillaries, and arteries didn't… well let's just say we we're really lucky. The stress on the body should have been irreversible."

"My thanks Tymora." Garrick softly mumbled.

"Excuse me?" Starfire, the nearest Titan asked.

"Nothing important."

"Wait, if this stuff affected his muscles, wouldn't he have like a heart attack or something?" Terra inquired.

"You'd think so," Cyborg continued to explain, "but the protein only affects skeletal muscle. Cardiac and smooth muscle aren't so his heart and organs should be fine now if they weren't damaged in the beginning."

"So, it should not affect anything else? Such as the mind?" Garrick asked.

"Yes and no, the brain's not a muscle. If the stuff got into your blood instead of through the skin it wouldn't do anything until it reached skeletal muscle tissue. But with the stress your body took, I honestly can't say what happened to your head aside from not getting enough blood. We don't even know if that was the case this time. I'm no doctor."

"What else do we know?" Garrick asked changing the subject.

"Well I mixed up an antidote a couple of hours ago that should be ready soon. Until then, I've been giving you regular MSTN injections to keep fresh, unaffected proteins flowing in your body. But we're gonna need to take off that suit before you get the antidote."

Garrick grabbed a handful of cloth from his suit. "Because you don't know if it will continue to poison me?"

"Yeah. The suit would only be holding the poison it soaked up in the fight against your body. Not to mention all the other crud you got on you."

"When?"

"Now's as good a time as any."

"Call us when you're done. Me and Starfire are going to get cleaned up." Robin said.

"Alright, take these." He handed each Titan a small bottle of blue gel. "It should get it off you guys no problem. Put your uniforms in a trash bag and I'll make sure to decontaminate it later."

The Titans left the infirmary, soon to return. But Raven snuck in one last glance inside before the door closed.

Garrick painfully turned and let his feet dangle over the side of the bed. He unlatched the gauntlet on his wrist and placed it next to him. After slipping on a pair of giant medical gloves, Cyborg slipped a few fingers under the collar of his suit, "Like this right?"

"Yes, it doesn't matter. It will repair itself the same no matter how it is broken."

Cyborg pulled his hands in opposite directions and a large tear ripped its way down the middle of the suit's front. With Cyborg holding the fabric open, Garrick slipped his arms out of the cloth. "Hey man, I'm sorry. I know what it's like to have someone else mess with your body. One time Slade infected me and the others just to get Robin to follow him."

"I appreciate your empathy, but I am not worried…" Garrick kicked off his boots and socks and jumped off the table. He began to untie his sash. "You have already come up with an analysis, theory, and solution to my problem in such a short amount of time." The sash fell down and he peeled the rest of the suit off.

"Yeah, well, fixin' up people is also my job around here." Cyborg folded up the fabric in his arms. He led Garrick to an overhead shower and gave the boy three bottles of colored chemicals. He instructed Garrick on what to do in order to get the many identified fluids off of him and to be careful with his wounds so as not to get any more foreign substances in them. When he finished, Garrick closed the opaque plastic door and washed as instructed, including his mask which he took with him. When Garrick began cleaning, Cyborg took the opportunity to pull the sheets off the bed and place the gauntlet on top of the rolled up pile. Cyborg dropped the items into a bag with a bio-hazard label, not wanting to contaminate his metallic skin. Cyborg's body would be mostly immune to chemicals but he didn't feel like being forced to wash off poison that would harm his friends.

He then took the bag and dumped its contents into a large machine, turned it on, then removed his gloves and dumped them and the bag into the trash.

Cyborg heard the shower stop and he hung a towel over the shower rim of the circular compartment. Garrick dried himself. "Wear this." Cyborg then held a blue robe over the door and waited for Garrick to take it. The shadowdancer slipped on the blue robe, tied it in the back, and exited the shower.

"Thank you." Garrick painfully pulled himself onto the bare bed.

Cyborg pressed a button on his arm, "Alright guys, we're done here."

Robin, Terra, Beast Boy, Starfire and Raven entered the room. The two senior Titans were still slightly damp, Starfire had in fact brought a small towel with her in order to finish drying her hair, but had significantly less to wash, so they finished long before Garrick. "We've called the Police and informed them on the situation." Robin began. "The area is going to be blocked off and scrubbed down. Commissioner Lynn told us he's sending down a HazMat team right now."

"They had best put in their finest work." Cyborg said. "Even the residual contaminants are highly potent. If they don't clean it up completely, then it can still be picked up. They safest way to go would be to completely remove anything it came into contact with and replace it, just to be safe." He let out a long sigh. "It's gonna take hours to get the seat and door in the T-car replaced" he moaned. "They're not just regular car parts y'know."

_Great. Carpet, sheets, now I gotta get some of that stuff to wash my hands too. _Raven thought to herself remembering how she had taken the boy to her room and cast another memory retrieval spell on him.

"The entire block? That could end up costing a lot of tax payers' dollars."

"They deal with stuff like this all the time. It's their job to know how to clean up messes like this." Beast Boy put in.

"I guess I can send over the data I've gathered here and let them do their job." Cyborg considered.

"We'll just put our faith in them and double check their work when their done."

"Agreed," Starfire approved and turned to her injured friend with the towel clasped betwixt two hands. "Garrick, do you agree?"

Garrick sat on his medical bed with his back leaning on the wall and his good arm resting on a raised knee. "It is not my place to agree or disagree. This is your city, not mine. I have no right to say what is in its best interest."

"You are most considerate. But-"

"I have only been here a week." The warrior interrupted her. "That does not give me the right to decide what is best for-"

"Shut up." A voice said from the back.

"Raven!"

"Don't try and defend him Starfire. Don't get sucked into his smug, little, woe-is-me act. Garrick, you try and make it sound like we're some kind of overseers and it's our job or responsibility to look over this city as some kind of ruler who decides what's best for its people without consulting them. This city isn't ours anymore than it is anyone else. We don't own it." Garrick turned his head and stared defiantly at the half-demon. "It's made up of thousands of people living together and you can't put ownership on something like that. That kind of thinking is just like Slade or anyone else who has tried to control Jump City."

"I don't think that's what Garrick-" Terra started but the warrior interrupted her.

"Regardless, what I am more concerned about is who sent that thing and why. It was a construct, so someone must have created it."

"It's got to be Slade." Beast Boy concluded. "Out of all the bad guys whose butts we kicked, he was the only one to ever send stuff to do his dirty work for him besides the Brotherhood."

"And the Brotherhood's been put on ice." Cyborg added.

"How do we know the machine was even sent in the first place? Was it possible it was an escaped experiment?" Garrick said.

"No." Robin dejected. "Anything like that would go instantly to us the second it was lost."

"Such is the way it has always been." Starfire backed Robin.

"Even secret government experiments. They never gave us details but they never wanted anyone to get hurt because of their mistakes."

"So if it wasn't an accident and Slade did send it, then _why_ did he send it?" Terra asked.

"Who knows? Unfortunately, when it comes to Slade, we have a bad record of not learning anything until it's too late." Beast boy answered depressingly.

"Not this time." Robin responded defiantly. "We're going to hold a meeting right here and right now. For too long we haven't thought through things. And for the last week, there have been way too many unanswered questions."

Cyborg started. "We know that a couple of goons tried to take Garrick's mobile home for a joyride and said goons were protected by robots made by Slade. The thieves were also found dead in their cell later that night. We already came to the conclusion that Slade must have hired the two to take the sarcophagus and later killed them when they failed."

Raven continued, "We know that he has some knowledge in magic from the incident with Thunder and Lightning when he used them to summon that giant fire elemental, he may have wanted the sarcophagus for some kind of ritual. If that's not the case he may have wanted Garrick for a new apprentice."

"That's assuming he _knew_ I was inside the coffin." Garrick remarked. "What about after that? The monster, the purple one, do you think he was responsible for that as well?"

"I do not believe so." Starfire answered. "When the Crime Scene Investigators inspected the damage, they were able to trace the creature's trail. A nuclear facility had sprung a leak in their piping and the toxic chemicals had flowed into the surrounding water supply. The report said that they were able to block off the contaminated water and kill off any mutations soon after realizing this, but it appears that the creature had escaped before they began the containment process.

"But, what about the poison? If Slade only sought to test Garrick, then why would he use such a harmful device?"

"To slow me down. He must have known that if I was able to pass his first test, we would try to track him down. So, he needed a way to keep me alive but incapacitated long enough to finish his next move. Even if I was somehow able to win and _not_ become poisoned, I would still require time to heal. And if I died, it would only prove that I did not have what it takes to work under him. Does that fit his profile? Cold, calculating, and methodical beyond comprehension?" The team nodded their heads. The normally impassive boy seemed rather irritated at the notion. "I do not know this Slade character, but if there is one thing I do not appreciate, it is being toyed with." Garrick's eyes narrowed and he spit out those last words with what appeared to be a snarl under his mask.

"If Slade is after you as an apprentice, why would he go through all this trouble? Why you? What is it about you that makes you so special?" Raven pushed. Garrick didn't answer, didn't even return the girl's accusing stare.

"There hasn't been any kind of pattern in Slade's choice for protege. He went from a boy with no powers raised by a super-billionaire…" Robin started.

"…To a rock-moving girl living on her own in the wilderness." Terra finished.

"Why is it that he must have an apprentice? He seems rather driven about it." Garrick asked.

"I don't know. All he said was that he was looking for someone to follow in his footsteps. If Slade is looking for an apprentice and he's chosen you, then maybe he's testing you. Think about it, with me and Terra he already had a gauge of our abilities. He had been watching us and knew what we were capable of. But you haven't been out of your cage in three thousand years. However he found out about you, he still couldn't have been able to know what you could do without seeing it himself."

"So Slade sent the white snake just to see how Garrick fights?" Cyborg shouted out.

"That's horrible!" Beast Boy agreed.

"He may want your powers for himself." Raven suggested. "He has no need of your fighting abilities; he's got that part down. But your shadow power might be what he's after."

"Shadow power?" Robin asked.

"I call it the Shadow Step." Garrick answered. "As long as there is shadow or a dark enough area, I can instantly transport myself to another dark space anywhere in a limited area. That is how I escaped you after all Raven."

Everyone looked to Raven with questioning looks on their faces wondering what the boy was referring to. "The first night Garrick showed up, I confronted him myself. I was so angry that _I_ was the one who set him free and couldn't do anything to _stop_ him. I completely lost it." Raven looked down in disappointment. "I _completely_ lost it. I let my father's side of me take over and I tried to kill him." The remaining Titans gasped, shocked at what their friend was telling them.

"Raven…" Cyborg started.

The young sorceress regained her strong expression and looked back up to her comrades. "I had Garrick in my grasp and he was able to use my own dark energy as a path to escape with his Shadow Step.

"However…" Raven continued, "I did some research." Raven turned around and reached her arm into the air and into a swirling portal of blackness. She pulled out a brown leather book lined in bronze. A few moments after the tome left, the portal disappeared. "When Garrick uses his Shadow Step, he actually transports himself to a place called the Plane of Shadow."

"Oh man, not the Planes again." Terra complained.

Raven opened the book and placed it on a nearby silver medical cart. "It's more of a Demiplane of our home; like comparing ice, water, and steam." Raven traced her finger over the page as she read aloud, "The Plane of Shadow is a dimly lit dimension that shares common boundaries and coexists with the Material Plane." As Raven read from the book, the other five Titans gathered around her to see the source for themselves while Garrick watched the group from his bed, not wanting to upset the wounds in his arm or side. "It overlaps the Material Plane, so a planar traveler can use the Plane of Shadow to cover great distances quickly."

"When I use my power," Garrick began, "I always pick my destination before I engage. I never see any place like what you are describing."

"You're probably moving so quickly that you don't have time to notice any changes. Since the shadow plane overlaps the material one, the distance you have to go through to reach the shadow plane is extremely short anyway. Plus, you can't Shadow Step too far, so by moving at such high speed over such a short distance it's no wonder you can't tell you've gone anywhere."

"That makes sense."

"It does?" Beast Boy asked scratching his head. He looked to Cyborg and Terra for some help, but they just looked back at him and shrugged.

Robin attempted to simplify. "If you're traveling in a car going a hundred miles-an-hour, but you're only going two miles away, you don't have the same time to check out the scenery as you would if you were going two miles-an-hour."

"So Slade wishes to possess Garrick's Shadow Step ability?" Starfire asked. "I do not understand. Slade always seems to be able to disappear as he wishes. Acquiring Garrick's powers would change nothing it seems."

"Star's got a point. The guy comes and goes as he pleases." Cyborg agreed. He turned his half metal face to Terra. "I don't suppose you or Robin picked up anything from when you were under his wing that could help us now, did you?"

Terra shook her head. "Not that I can think of. He never told or showed me how he did most of the things he did. Despite how much time we spent together, I learned nothing about him except how hard he pushes you. He doesn't _allow_ you enough time to do anything but train and rest, in fact you'd rather sleep than eat." Terra shuddered at the memories. "He never even told me why it is that he wanted to take over the city in the first place."

"There's more." Raven added. "Listen to this." Raven looked back down at the book and continued reading. "Due to an unknown reason, creatures from other material planes, like Garrick's home, can be randomly ripped from their current plane of existence and placed on another with no memory of their previous home, and fluency in the local language. This is called The Gift of Lethe."

"That doesn't make any sense either." Terra exclaimed.

"Well it explains how he and his ride got here." Cyborg chimed in.

"But Garrick, you remember everything right?"

Garrick nodded. "Everything except when I left Neverwinter. Everything after that is black. But even that event feels fresh in my mind."

"The sarcophagus!" Robin broke his silence. Everyone turned their eyes to the spiky-haired leader. "Maybe the sarcophagus shielded him from the effects of the Plane of Shadow."

"That would fit Slade's usual M.O. of stealing advanced devices a little better." Cyborg agreed. "With it, he could travel farther than normal in a shorter amount of time without suffering the consequences of the travel."

"So we have a theory," Beast Boy said. "Now what could Slade want with the ability to travel through portals, taking over the city, and testing Garrick?"

"This Shadow Step of yours, can you do it anywhere?" Robin asked.

"For the most part. The more concealed spot the better. Shadows amongst a heavily lit area are the hardest to get a focus on, nearly impossible."

"The city is wedged between the ocean and the mountains. If Slade is planning on using the Plane of Shadow to quickly move about the city, he could mobilize an army in a matter of days or even hours. We could be surrounded before we even counter. With a mountain range casting a shadow over the entire city, he could be anywhere he wanted to be."

"In order to mobilize an entire army…" Raven interjected. "…He couldn't just use a simple Shadow Step."

"She's right." Garrick agreed. "He would need to strategically open multiple Shadow Gates. One person using a Shadow Step is fine, but to have hundreds do it at the same time… I cannot even speculate the repercussions. I have only heard rumors of this happening."

"Care to enlighten us?" Robin asked.

"One I heard was about an exiled general named Eldrith the Betrayer; she used a tower of onyx to open and strategically place multiple Shadow Gates in order to move troops about the land to orchestrate an attack against the city that exiled her. The tower was destroyed, but later restored by a vampire lord named of Mordoc SeLanmere. He used the Plane of Shadow to move the tower wherever he wished, or hid there to avoid attack.

"Another rumor I heard is that particular places in the Material Plane are more susceptible to open portals to the Plane of Shadow. You cannot just open one anywhere. There are only certain places where the fabric between the planes is weaker. However, my Shadow Step works nearly anywhere. So as you can see, how this Slade plans to use the Plane of Shadow is beyond me. There are simply too many possibilities that we do not yet know would work."

"What about the prophecy?" Robin asked looking at Raven.

"Prophecy?" Garrick looked at the half-demon girl.

"I don't see where it would fit." Raven answered Robin.

"Umm… what are you guys talking about?" Beast Boy said.

"C'mon Raven. The timing couldn't be a coincidence." Terra pressed.

Raven took a breath and pushed the uneasiness in her away. She really didn't want to bring this up in front of the Substitute Titan, especially since he obviously hadn't put his demonic bias to rest yet. "The night Garrick came out of the sarcophagus, I went into a trance. I made a prophecy without realizing it." Not wanting to discuss it further, Raven walked to the computer screen and brought up the video from that night. The other Titans came in closer to the screen for a better view.

"_The wheels of prophecy e'er turn. The paladin of Ao's true face hath come. Crossroads of past, present, and future. The one foreseen, the one foretold. That which has past is ne'er truly gone. History repeats, though mortals choose not to see. War and bloodshed be not new to the Realms. A god that once hath been, may be once again. The servant of spiders burns within. The rivers froth with tainted blood. The corpses of those born not innocent, feed the inferno of burning hate. The demon's servant deceived, eight of one led down a false path. A hidden light glows on the darkness. The servant of hate knows death and destruction. The face of an ally yet to choose a path. The child of shadows brings chaos to the land. Its light feeds its black flame. Evil and purity walk together. But a river of tainted blood doth not cleanse. The storm approaches. We speak… no… more…_"

Raven paused on the image of her floating in the air engulfed in purple light. She turned to the rest of the group and crossed her arms, shyly looking away at the ground.

"What does it mean?" Starfire asked.

"Robin and I have only been able to make any sense of parts of it."

"We think the first line, 'the wheels of prophecy ever turn,' may refer back to the time we first fought Trigon. 'That which has past is never truly gone, history repeats, a god that had once been may be once again…' By what Garrick said the other day about how slaying demons doesn't kill them, the fight with Trigon may not be over."

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Beast Boy shouted.

"It took everything we had to bring 'em down the first time." Cyborg agreed.

"The Trigon is not someone you wish to meet a second time."

"You said it Star."

"I wasn't there, but from what everyone's told me…" Terra trailed off.

"…You wouldn't _want_ to be there." Beast Boy answered.

"Is there anything else?" Garrick asked.

"'The demon's servant,' it could be me." Raven said grabbing her brooch.

"No, it's definitely Slade." Beast Boy reassured her with a smile and a thumbs-up. "He was the one who tried to summon Trigon before we even knew what was happening. Besides, didn't the glowy you say, 'the demon's servant _deceived_?' From what Slade told Robin, that's exactly what Trigon did to make him team up with us in the end."

"Yeah but that's about where the tangible stuff ends." Terra stated. "'A hidden light glows in the dark,' 'the servant of hate,' 'evil and purity walking together?' Everything else is so abstract. How are we supposed to know what it means before it's too late and something bad happens?"

"The child of shadows brings chaos to the land…" Robin trailed off.

Garrick winced. Some of the prophecy made sense but not the parts that were exactly the most uplifting. _Please, don't let it come out._

"We have to stop this guy. This servant of spiders or child of darkness or whatever, whatever he's supposed to do we're gonna stop him!" Cyborg exclaimed.

Garrick looked back at them with nervous eyes.

"Yeah!" Beast Boy agreed. "Pull out all the stops this guy's going down." He high-fived his robotic friend, both of them now fired up.

"Just because Raven had another prophecy doesn't mean it's going to happen too." Robin interrupted. The two teens looked back at their leader and solemnly agreed. "Raven changed her destiny. And we can change this one as well."

"Agreed." Starfire said. "Garrick, is there any luminescence you may alight the circumstances with?"

Garrick looked back at the orange-skinned alien quickly putting on his impassive mask once again. "This revelation is eerily similar to one I have overheard many years ago in Toril. However, I cannot seem to recall much beyond the fact that it referred to a child of the dead god Bhaal, Lord of Murder." Garrick looked away again hoping they would not question any further.

"I see." Starfire answered, put back. "Is there anything else?"

_Damn it. _"Yes, it doesn't make sense."

"Well of course it doesn't make sen-" Cyborg started.

"No. The passage, '_the Paladin of Ao's true face hath come_' does not make sense. Ao does not have any paladins. He is the Overgod, and governs the actions of the other deities. He is not involved in the affairs of mortals and most people consider worshiping him to be pointless. The closest thing to him actually doing something was thousands of years ago during a period called the Time of Troubles. Without going into too much detail, the gods Bane and Myrkul tried to steal the Tablets of Fate from Lord Ao. As punishment for all the gods' constant pursuit of power and negligence to their followers, all the gods were made mortal flesh and forced to walk the Material Plane except for Helm, the Watcher; he was to stand guard the gates of the afterlife and heavens. Paladins are most inclined to worship a patron god who they can call upon for power when they need, such as Helm, Torm the Loyal Fury, or Tyr the Maimed God. But Ao, he is something other than a deity, who does not even respond to the calls of those few and foolish enough to call themselves his followers. He has no portfolio, or any tenets to speak of. But, there is a rumor that even _he_ takes orders from a higher source.

"Regarding the matter at hand however, there are definite similarities to the prophecy of Alaundo the Wise. The Bhaalspawn, Bhaal's children, murdered each other in order to gain more power until only one was left, 'The one foreseen, the one foretold.' When one of Bhaal's children died, his essence was siphoned to his own plane and stored in hopes that he would one day gain the power to resurrect. That is what it referred to when Raven spoke of 'the corpses of those born not innocent feed the inferno of burning hate.' Though how it is relevant now I do not know." Garrick's ever-changing eyes seemed to glaze over as he looked down at his hand.

"And what about the other part? 'A river of tainted blood doth not cleanse?'" Raven asked.

"No matter how much one tries to fight it, those with evil inside them only cause destruction, even if it is not their intent. And they can never be rid of it… it cannot be cleansed."

"Do not speak these bad words." Starfire pleaded. "We have said many times that Raven has defeated that which was written long ago. She is free." Raven looked away from the scene. She knew exactly what the boy referred to.

"But simply having that power within her entire life has reaped consequences in itself." He quickly shot out looking hard at the alien girl. "How much damage has been caused? Wherever there is power, there will be people and beings that seek it. And even if the vessels do not wish for it, even if they run from it, those with power inside them will leave a scar of chaos and ruin in their wake, even if it is only collateral damage."

"Remember when Slade came to seek me out? Remember how much damage he caused simply chasing me? And in the end..." Raven looked down at the ground realizing the truth of Garrick's words and the weight held in them.

Garrick saw Raven looking at the ground. And again those purple eyes reminded him of his master. He felt a pain hit him hard in the chest as if he'd been struck between a hammer and an anvil. He was referring to himself in the beginning, referring to this _thing_ inside him. But he replied to Starfire and shifted the blame to Raven almost instinctively. It was as if he unconsciously wanted the half-demon to be blamed for what had happened to their world, whatever it was. Garrick realized what his words had done. Realized the pain he had caused the girl who had done nothing to him he hadn't already forgiven her for. This damn pain in his chest that always stuck when he saw someone in pain, it had been his bane and near undoing many a time. But no matter how many times it had put him in trouble and harm's way, he could never _not _do something when he witnessed someone hurting or ache; chiefly when he was the one to blame.

"However…" Garrick put together at the last second before, he felt, that everyone would begin lashing out at him. "It was never a choice for those kinds of people to be hosts. So for them, there is no point in becoming upset or distraught over something they have no control over. It will only cause them to eat themselves up inside."

Raven looked up from the ground and turned back at the boy. But before she could think or say anything he had started up again.

"At any rate, there is no more of the prophecy that I can deduce. Either way, even if we were able to figure it out, what could we do to stop it and how does it relate to this Slade?"

"I don't know." Robin answered. "If Slade is the demon's servant, the prophecy doesn't say what his role is."

A long silence filtered into the room. Each hero remained where they were trying to think of a way to connect or even relate everything that had happened to everything they had discussed. Garrick once again looked to his hands. They were shaking: lack of food, minimal rest and the fight against this chemical invader within had caused him to become weak. He had tried to keep his secret hidden, but with this news of a prophecy, some of which he believed to be related to himself, in addition to his weakened state, Garrick believed the time to keep it a secret had passed. In his current condition, if the city were to be attacked, and he knew it would be if not by this Slade character eventually looking for him, then Garrick would not be able to keep _it_ a secret for long.

Whether he wanted to or not.

"Robin, everyone…" Garrick began softly, still fearful of how they would react. "I have somethi–"

The alarm interrupted him mid-sentence. Flashes of red and the blaring siren filled the entire tower. Cyborg ran up to the computer and minimized the medical screen, then pulled up the report. "Someone's smashing up the center of town!"

"Who is it? Mammoth? Dr. Light?" Beast Boy asked.

"Cinderblock and someone else." Cyborg replied. "Someone new."

"Let's go." Robin said. He turned to head out the door with everyone else. Just before he it made through the door, he heard a sharp yelp of pain and turned to see Garrick falling out of the medical bed. He pulled himself up to look back at Robin. The dark circles under his eyes from exhaustion seemed more prominent than before. "Sorry Garrick, I need you to stay here."

"I cannot sit back and wait."

"And I can't risk losing you out there. You're exhausted, haven't had a full night's rest for two days, you're half-naked, and can only use one arm. Not to mention you have a criminal mastermind looking for you who likely set this whole thing up as a trap to lure you out."

"It is not-"

"I know it sucks and I know how hard it is. I was the exact same way. But it's for the best. We need you at your full strength when we go to hunt down Slade." He turned and left the room before Garrick had a chance to reply.

Garrick looked at himself in the reflection of the computer screen, now powered down. He was weary and broken and pathetic. He needed both his arms in order to fight and his only clothes were still being decontaminated. He sat down on the cold ground and leaned against the wall. With the infection seeping away his strength combined with his physical fatigue from fighting and summoning his spell-swords, he knew too that he wouldn't last long on the battlefield.

Garrick took in a frustrated sigh. And just as he was about to trust that the Titans knew what they were doing and to concede to sleep, an annoying buzzing sound came from one of the machines as it ceased its noise. Painfully pulling himself up, he walked over to the large black box and opened the small door. The items inside were not only cleaned but dried as well, and the scent of chemicals hung in the air about the tumbler. Off to the side, he heard a clear ding as another of Cyborg's machines ceased its whirring. Garrick walked to a clear wall as robotic arms took a vial of green liquid from a centrifuge and placed it into a syringe. The syringe was put on a metal tray and the tray pushed through a small door next to Garrick.

Remembering what it was that Cyborg had said about an antidote being ready soon, Garrick began to calculate a new plan. He threw down the robes, grabbed his gear, and grasped the syringe.

If all went as planned, his fate would still be in the hands of Tymora: Lady Luck.

OoOoO

Author's notes: Ok, so I tried to take this chapter to slow things down and answer some questions things I left dangling in the previous chapters. This chapter was also meant to set up a plot since you guys haven't even gotten an inkling of one yet. Next Chapter is my fav cuz its when thing finally start rolling. But I needed this chap in order to set it up. Had this for a long time. Been nearly a year since my last update but hey, my first year of college, cut me some slack. Anyways, as always _**PLEASE LEAVE REVIEWS!**_ The story can't get any better if I don't know how to build it better. I like uplifting comments, but pointing out my fallacies are much more helpful. So Flame me if you don't mind LOL. I've been told Raven and Garrick are moving too quickly and that Robin is too paranoid. I'm trying to make these characters as much like the TV show as I can but it's hard to stay in character sometimes. I'm still growing as a writer and this story will most likely go over many changes. In fact I am working from Chap 1 again and will work my way forward to make sure everything is aligned properly and match up.


	9. Bleeding the Truth

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans, Forgotten Realms, or any companies, items, or elements in this story.

**Chapter IX: Bleeding the Truth**

The white car zoomed through the lamp-lit streets. It had been several hours since the incident at the pizza parlor and the timed street lights had already activated to combat the oncoming night. The tall, thin, black iron pillars poured out a weak yellow light over the 'less fortunate' district of Jump City. Cyborg parked the T-Car in the middle of the wide 4-lane street. There was no need to worry about traffic: not a car was in sight. In fact no one was in sight. No street-side store had a single customer or staff member, even if some of them still had their lights on. Four of the Titans cautiously made their way out of the car as Starfire and Raven flew down to meet with them on the ground. Beast Boy was the first to break the silence, "Dudes, am I the only one getting creeped out here?" He said the words in all seriousness; the empty street had only two or three stores with lights on and the few street lamps would flicker for a few moments before fading off only to come back to life moments later. The warm air was mostly silent, but with an infrequent breeze just barely strong enough to blow away a loose newspaper or flow through a Titan's hair.

Nothing was more disturbing however, than the fact that something was wrong. The stillness of the atmosphere was so powerful it was almost a surrounding entity, creeping and slowly choking the breath out of each Titan less than half a breath at a time. An unsettling feeling crawled its way up every hero and it showed in the slow shuffling of their feet as they would move to take in something that should be there but wasn't. "Naw BB. I'm getting a bad feeling here too," Cyborg replied a few moments after Beast Boy's initial question. Another breeze flew by.

"Where's Cinderblock?" Terra asked in a soft yet determined voice.

"Move slowly but spread out." Robin instructed as he took the first step forward. "I think this could have been-"

"A Trap?" All six Titans spun around to see the origin of the high-pitched and bubbly voice. A black figure sat on the second story ledge of a parking garage, swinging its feet in a whimsical manner. "Well… yes and no. Is it still a trap if you don't catch what you wanted?" The silhouette swung its legs in one big, final sweep and jumped down to the ground twelve feet below. The Titans tensed at the sight, not sure what to do yet as the figure made no hostile move toward them.

The figure moved beneath the yellow light of a nearby light post. The light revealed a petite girl whom placed a hand on her hip. Her pale and slightly blue-tinted skin stood out all the more against the contrast of the dark outfit she wore. Black hair, tipped in red up to her eyes, hung down mid-throat level in alternating streaks of red and black. A pair of black tattoos, one under each black-grey and thickly make-upped eye, framed her face down to smiling lips, which were coated in black lipstick with a single streak of dark red down the center. A black choker firmly bound itself around her throat and held a silver disc of four drops of blood encircling a fifth in its center. Red stitching wove over the top curves of her breasts along a thin-strapped, black tube top which was little more than a strapless bra than an excuse for a top. A black diamond shaped pad, containing several cuts and holes through to her icy blue skin, reached from the bottom of her top down to her waist and wrapped around her midsection like a belt. She wore a tight black miniskirt with one end resting on top of her waist and the other sitting just barely atop her hip. On the high side, a single slit cut its way down along her hip but didn't reach the end of the skirt, leaving an elliptical hole on one of the girl's shapely hips. Three lines of red stitching reached across the skirt: one from the top of the slit to the bottom opposite side, one ran along the bottom of the skirt in a straight rim, and another surrounded the hole on the girl's hip. On the low side of the skirt hung a short chain holding another silver disc, this one with the picture of a bleeding rose. Her black leather boots reached halfway up her shins and had two rows of four spikes, one in front, two on the sides, and one more in the back, alternating with two rows of a single small belt, over red laces. The girl did a quick spin with a hand in the air to reveal that from the choker to the skirt, multiple overlapping triangular leather pads made their way down her spine. The girl stopped spinning and placed her hand back on her hip. Despite all the little accessories, the small girl showed a surprisingly large amount of skin. And nearly every inch of her pale arms, back, chest and abdomen was covered in scars.

"So, does your dad own Hot Topic or something?" Beast Boy shot off.

"Who are you?" Robin asked stepping forward and ignoring his teammates comment. "Did you come here with Cinderblock?"

The girl examined the short leader and curled her black lips up. "You should really take off that mask of yours cutie. I want to see if your eyes are as cold and focused as I hope they are. Now that would be hot." A green energy disc flashed past the girl into a stone beam supporting the garage. The new girl looked at the attack unimpressed then turned back to the boy now seeing a tall orange-skinned female with glowing green eyes standing beside the leader.

"You will answer our questions." Starfire issued the sentence as a command, not a request.

"C'mon princess, I'm not here to steal your boytoy unless I really want to and to be honest he's yet to impress me aside from being some eye-candy. Far too controlled for my taste."

"We're not here to talk about dating." Cyborg stepped out and bellowed.

"Who are you?" Robin asked.

"Where's Cinderblock?" Raven continued.

"And why are you here?" Terra finished.

The girl held her hands up defensively. "Whoa whoa whoa. Give me time to breathe why don't you? I lost track of pebble brain. I only came here because that's what the Order told me to do and apparently our client requested I work with the guy. I don't like him too much. Takes orders too easily. No independence. I prefer a little more chaos and bloodshed personally. Everyone was gone by the time I got here. Which is why I was hanging out on that ledge, no one to terrorize." The girl answered the questions with the sweetest of smiles, one that might be found on a child; without hesitation. As if her words carried no weight whatsoever. "Oh, and the name's Carmella, emphasis on the 'Ella'."

"Dude, what's WRONG with you?" Beast Boy nearly shouted.

"Well, that was uncalled for." Carmella pouted once again like a child. "I do have feelings you know."

"Wait, what is the Order, who's your client, and what were you trying to catch with this 'trap?'" Terra asked.

Carmella threw her head back and let out a dramatic sigh. "More questions? Can't we just skip to the fighting already?"

"I agree." Starfire said and began to move but Robin held her back.

"Answer us Carmella."

"Ooh, so in control aren't you?" Carmella taunted. She received a glare from Starfire that was luckily not accompanied with lasers. "Alright, this might be fun to keep you on the edge of the loop." She grabbed the disc at the end of her chain. "This is the symbol of our Order: The Order of the Bleeding Rose. We're a mercenary group that travels the world and prefers to keep our secrets well… secret. But I've never really been one for rules." She dropped the chain back down her side. "I didn't really meet our newest client. Sorry. I never found it all that interesting. I just like to go out and get messy. And as for the whole trap thing, well I think your short one guy. Which one of you is Garrick?" she asked pointing to each member, again like a child.

"Can't you just leave the guy alone?" Terra yelled. "He hasn't done anything to you."

"True. But he was the only one I was told to keep alive. Oh well," she shrugged, "If you're all here then that must mean he's alone, and he'd only be alone if he was hurt, which will make my job easier. I'll just go get him. Bye." She smiled and waved as she began moving out of the light. A large stone wall erupted out of the ground inches in front of the pale girl. She dodged in time, bounced off a concrete pillar and landed on top of the wall. Carmella stared down curiously at the blond girl with the outstretched arm. "Stoney!" She called out.

A crash resounded through the street as a hulking mass erupted from beneath the asphalt. Breaking through both levels of the parking garage, the stone giant roared as he rose up and swiped away the blinding dust with reckless abandon.

Terra stood her ground and smiled, staring at the sorry excuse for a villain… and the rock he was composed of. "Are you joking? You're going to send HIM against ME?" the geomancer stretched out her hand and it began to glow its yellow aura. The same yellow aura limned the concrete body of Cinderblock and he collapsed to the ground on his hands and knees. Terra approached him, her hand still extended, as he struggled and grunted to get back up as if the planet's gravity had amplified and was trying to pull him down into its depths.

"Wow. So you're cute AND powerful, huh blondie?" The voice came from the side. Carmella sat on top of a sign that had tilted to its side on top of a small flipped and abandoned car. Terra shot her an angry piercing glare. She hated being taunted. "Thanks for taking the initiative. Now I don't have to pick you out. They told me the little green one would be overprotective of you. So you must be the one who can move earth."

"What? MOVE the earth?" Terra began to raise her voice in an angry manner the Titans had not seen in her before.

Robin recognized what was going on and his eyes shot open as he tried to stop it before it happened. But he was too late. "Terra, no! It's a -"

"BITCH, I AM THE EARTH!" Terra screamed out as a colossal stone hand reached up from under the garage and attempted to grasp the enemy female. Carmella leaped up and before the blonde titan could redirect the attack, a splash of red liquid exploded in her eyes, quickly hardening.

"TERRA!" Beast Boy yelled.

"My eyes!" She scratched at her face, desperately trying to remove the hardened red crystals from her closed lids. The yellow aura surrounding the villain disappeared and Cinderblock, no longer burdened by Terra's pull, made his way back up to his stone feet.

"Did you honestly think I'd let you end the fun so quickly little earth princess? I may be an instrument of chaos but come on! I'm ignorant, not stupid." Carmella chuckled an honest laugh before flipping back to find another place to watch.

Beast Boy ran to Terra as she fell down, clawing at the substance on her face. "Terra! Are you okay?" He began to feel the material and its smooth yet edged surface. Like that of rock candy.

"Beast Boy? Is that you? I'm fine but I can't see. I closed my eyes just before it happened." She waved her hands about until they came into contact with Beast Boy. He grasped them and began to pull the girl up.

"Beast Boy!" Robin called. The green Titan turned around to heed the call, and his heart sank.

Two enormous rock fists rushed down to meet him; and just before they made contact, a yellow rope lead by a crimson steel bird wrapped itself around the granite wrists. An orange blur flew under the fists and halted their descent with only the slightest visible effort. "We have him!" Starfire shouted. At that point, Cyborg leapt onto the golem's back and secured metallic arms around his thick neck. Robin ran behind Cyborg and began to pull as hard his strong diminutive body would allow. But with every thrash and every jerk, Robin's light form would be pulled completely off its feet and Cyborg's great strength could only do so much as he swung from the enemy's backside.

"Starfire!" the leader called to his teammate.

Thinking like a hive mind, the warrior princess knew exactly what her friend had in mind and what to do. She shoved her opponent's solid hands up with ease and quickly flew back next to Robin. But as she approached, his body shot up from the ground; propelled by Cinderblock's newly freed grip. Starfire thought her aggressive release to be enough to set him off-balance, but was apparently wrong. Robin flailed in the air at the end of his rope, Starfire chasing. When she got a hold of him, she settled on the ground and the two pulled back on the cord. Cinderblock's bound wrists reeled over the top of his enormous form until they met his own resistance. Cyborg released his grip and scrambled over, jumping off the stone shoulders and in front of Beast Boy with his back to his friend.

As Beast Boy watched his friends protect him and Terra, Raven appeared up out of the ground from her dark portal. She placed her hand on the red crystal formed around her friend and let out a relieved breath.

"Beast Boy. This stuff is strong and somehow resistant to my magic but I can fix this. I need you guys to buy me some time."

"But Raven, I-"

A large blue and white form fell down behind the changling, but quickly stood up to its feet. "Didn't you miss out on the last fight? If you want to help her, give her a chance to be helped." Cyborg assured his friend.

"Right." He nodded his head and turned. He stood beside Cyborg and the two shared a smile and a nod before charging back yelling. Cyborg began to pull ahead and just before Beast Boy was about to shift forms, a shadow fell down before him and cut him off.

"You didn't forget me now did you?" Carmella asked.

"Well, uh, kinda. I mean No!" He corrected himself, shaking his head. "You did something to Terra! What is that stuff?"

"Just a gift from our employer. Tweaked of course, but effective nonetheless. Can't come unprepared you know."

Beast Boy [morphed and attacked]. He [changed forms again and attacked again]. But no matter what form he took, the girl dodged, evaded, rolled, or slipped just out of his reach.

"Awww, I didn't know you were a dancer." Carmella convincingly mocked. "How cute." Beast Boy reverted back to his human form, breathing hard. Despite his laissez-faire attitude, he was arguably one of the most well-conditioned members on the team since he didn't fly the same way as the girls or drive some kind of vehicle, not to mention all his attacks were physical ones. Yet this girl was wearing him out quickly. It's one thing to hit your opponent, but when one continually strikes nothing but air the fatigue begins to take its toll. When he picked himself up to look at the girl again she was gone. Fatigue quickly leaving his body, Beast Boy frantically looked left and right trying to locate her.

"Miss me green bean?" She whispered from behind, grasping him by the shoulders and slamming her knee directly into his spine.

"GAAAAAAHHH!" Beast Boy screamed, his eyes wide, before the air retreated from his lungs and strength drained from his limbs. He collapsed on the ground, his body shuddering and shaking. Breaths coming in short, quick gasps.

The girl giggled that childlike laugh.

"You look like a fish that jumped on land by accident." She giggled a bit more before pinning the injured Titan facedown on the cold asphalt. She took off one of the belts from a boot and bound his hands behind him before straddling his back, eliciting another yell of pain. Carmella lowered her mouth next to one of his pointed ears. "You can't morph now can you? Not with your nervous system damaged."

Beast Boy slowly opened his eyes. He was facing his friends and from the look of things they needed help. Cyborg was slowly digging himself out of the rubble of a convenient store, Cinderblock had Robin engulfed in one hand and was trying to catch a free-flying Starfire while taking stings of starbolts which he ignored. Beast Boy wished he could turn to see how Raven was doing with Terra but they were at his six and his body was being far too rebellious to oblige.

"It's like you're my own little doggie," Carmella began softly petting his hair, "I never did get one in the Order. Guess they were afraid I would kill it or something."

_This is humiliating _Beast Boy thought. _I can't believe this is happening. Not only is this the second time someone's called me their dog but look at the shape I'm in. I'm tied up, I can't use my powers, and the bad guy is treating me like a pet. What's worse, I couldn't protect Terra. I'm the worst boyfriend ever._

"You know," Carmella slowly tightened her grip on a handful of hair and whispered into his ear, "If you love her, then you'll bleed for her." The knife's sting was light but painful as it swam through the skin of his cheek. Beast Boy didn't know where she had been hiding the weapon but at that point it seemed moot to question it. Besides, he could feel something else happening.

He heard hot breath in his ear before he felt the warm, slick weaving of her tongue across his fresh open wound. It stung, as if in that single graze across his cheek she subtly tried to dig into the cut with the appendage. He shut his eyes as tight as he could. He felt sick, as if his stomach was rotting from the inside. The degradation, the humiliation, the emasculation. Despite all these the only thing running through his mind at that time was _I'll do it for Terra. I'll do it for Terra. If it's to buy time. If it keeps them away from her. I'll do it for Terra._

Carmella pulled her head away and released her grip on his hair before giving a disappointed sound. "You're so bland."

OoOoO

Raven's energy-engulfed hand lay over the crystal covering her friend's face. Normally, Raven would just crush the whole thing into pieces with one move. But for some reason the crystal was resistant to her powers. She had to break it down piece by piece slowly for fear she might accidently crush her friend's skull.

"Hurry up! I'll make her eat dirt when I can see again." Terra managed to get her upper body off the ground before Raven yelled and shoved the blinded girl back down.

"Sit still! This stuff only receives about a fifth of the damage I deal out. I have to use a high risk disintegration spell just shave it down as fast as I am. Do you want to lose your nose or an eye?"

Terra didn't know what to do. She could hear everything going on. All the fighting. And she was sick of being left out. "When I'm out of this, she's mine."

"I know. Just sit still, I think I'm almost done."

Terra could feel the crystal beginning to weaken around her and her heart sped its beating in anticipation.

Before it sank at the sound of Beast Boy's scream.

"Beast Boy!" Terra shot back up again, this time refusing to be put back down. Raven's hand slipped and grazed the geomancer's thigh just before she deactivated the spell. Terra yelped in pain but continued trying to find the source of the scream. Raven cursed and threw her cloak over the both of them, shrouding themselves before reappearing in an alley between two stores. "Let me go! I don't care if I can't see, that bitch is gonna pay! Let me go! Beast Boy! BEAST BOY!" In her thrashing Terra felt her way around Raven and forced her out of the way, throwing her into the wall. Terra pulled herself up and grabbed at the crystal. She heard another yell, Cyborg, as he crashed into one of the stores next to her. Managing to actually find a hold of it, the girl yanked and pulled and ripped at the weakened rock encasing her. She gave a final defiant yell and tug and the crystal shattered into a shower of crimson shards. Terra wiped at her eyes, brushing away the remnants and tears that had been locked in place.

She wandered out of the alley and saw Starfire trying to get Robin out of Cinderblock's grip while dodging the enemy's swats. She turned her head slightly to the left and saw Carmella straddling a prostrate Beast Boy and petting his head like an animal.

She began walking towards the two. Her demeanor: that of a person not to be deterred.

Not even by threat of death.

Cinderblock saw her movement and threw Robin into a flying Starfire before charging the blonde girl.

Terra clenched her fists; the gloves creaked under the stress. Then she saw the girl cut her boyfriend on the cheek with a small knife she had pulled out of her shoe.

Terra's eyes nearly bled anger. But then she saw the blue-skinned girl lean over and lick the blood off his face.

And that was all the Titan could bear any longer.

There might have been the slightest point of surprise, but between the times her eyes saw it and her brain registered it, there simply was not enough before the explosion of yellow energy blasted its way out of her body in a detonation of pure rage. The only thing more prominent from the blinding light was the voice-ripping scream emanating from the girl. Her hands, her eyes, her entire form was wreathed in yellow flame. She never took those unblinking eyes off the other girl.

Not even when she violently threw her hand before a charging Cinderblock, vaporizing his enormous rock form into dust, and that dust into nothing.

"Terra!" her companions tried to call. But her ears were deaf to all things not born of vengeance.

"CARMELLA!"

The villain turned to Terra. "Oh, hey!" The girl got up and walked over to burning essence where Terra was without the slightest hint of surprise.

"I'M GONNA RIP YOU TO PIECES YOU BITCH!" Every piece of gravel, every break of stone, any rock small enough to fit in the hand jerked from its spot and fired its way to the blue-skinned girl before circling her in whirlwind of shrapnel until she was enclosed in a swirling opaque barrier. Terra stood seething with her wrists together and fingers curled. She began drawing in her fingers, and when she did she cyclone closed in on the girl and accelerated its rotation. Blood flowed freely from Terra's leg where Raven's spell had glanced her but she couldn't feel a thing.

"Terra, stop it!" Robin called to her again. The scream of the yellow light, and the wind coming from the attack was too loud to hear normally.

"That's enough Terra!" Cyborg yelled.

"Friend, please stop!" said Starfire beside her leader.

"You're going to kill her!" Raven came from behind. Indeed, small splashes of blood began to spurt from the gale. And came with increasing frequency.

"THIS ISN'T YOU TERRA!" This voice came from behind the rocks. When Terra turned her glowing yellow eyes to meet the sound… _is it…?_

Beast Boy was on his hands and knees, the small belt on the ground next to him, and he was shaking, but he looked directly at her. His eyebrows turned up sadly, and all the memories of her as Slade's apprentice came rushing back to her.

Her anger.

Her betrayal.

Her ruthlessness.

Despite all those things Beast Boy still knew she was a good person, still believed in her, and still loved her. And she realized how for just a time, she was that person once again. Tears welled in the corners of her eyes as the anger ceased, dissipating the yellow light and halting the blood-stained hurricane to its eternal eye, revealing a multilacerated girl lying on the wet red rubble.

Terra fell to her knees and stared at her friend still in shock. He tried to move but was slow to the task and could not move far. She got up and felt fire swim through the wound on her leg, but she fought through it and ran to her friend supporting him as he supported her through all those years.

The others let out a sigh, relieved it was over. Even with her control, her powers still held the capability for horrible natural disasters.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry…" She repeated over and over again.

"It's okay. It's done."

A piece of rubble shifted and fell. The six Titans looked to the heap of blood and stone where the enemy laid.

And the laughing that emanated. The childish laughter was gone. There was no innocence in this mirth.

Only madness.

"You think 'cause I'm all cut up I'm done?" The bloodied girl slowly stood from her reclined position atop the wet rock letting out small joyous gasps. She was facing Robin and the others, but turned her head to face her former killer. "I just got bored. Thanks for lettin' me use my powers in such a lovely way gorgeous." Her normal soprano voice was now much huskier.

"Powers?" Beast Boy replied confused. This just made her giggle some more before turning to Robin and the rest.

"I know you're all smarter than to think you're the only ones with powers." She turned an eye to Robin, "almost."

"So what is it then? Is it giving us the creeps because that's all you've done!" Cyborg taunted.

"Not all dude…" Beast Boy said rubbing his back.

"Sorry man."

"Do none of you ever read? The name's Carmella…"

In the back, Raven's eyes narrowed.

"…A long time ago there was a noblewoman named Elizabeth Bathory…" Carmella lifted a hand up before her, dripping red. "…who believed that blood was the answer to eternal beauty. She drank it," the girl licked her hand to the tip of her index finger and sucked at the tip with a sickening _pop!_ "Ate with it, and would hire her servants to go out under cover of night to murder, so that she may bathe in it." Blue-skin became red as she smeared the liquid on her hand and arm down the limb. Spreading it to the shoulder. "This story gave rise to another, years later. One of the first vampire's novelized, before Dracula was even thought up, was one of a woman named… Carmilla."

"Vampire?" Starfire looked to Robin.

"Are you saying you're a vampire?" The Titan leader asked.

"Unfortunately, people are out during the day and it's too troublesome to break into houses or stalk for a late night snack so I don't think I'd care too much for it. Plus the restrictions; a girl's gotta be free. Not to mention the way the media and religion has drowned out the concept itself."

"So what's your point?" Raven asked.

"Blood has always been a marvel to people…" She said looking back to her raised hand. "…especially to those looking to make it a weapon. The scientists trying to make a living bioweapon didn't quite expect the bond I developed with it. They certainly didn't expect me to master it as quickly as I did. Especially when I used it paint that whole place red." She looked back to Raven. "My blood IS my power."

Raven all of a sudden realized just where all those scars were from.

Terra covered her open wound with a dirty glove.

Carmella turned her way and looked disappointed. "Don't do that beautiful. You'll get dirt in it. Then it'll get infected and dirty up the blood."

Terra narrowed her eyes in anger.

"Not that yours is anything special, and your boyfriend has got to change his diet, he tastes like tofu. I can only control my own blood. Now with introductions out of the way: death." Carmella fired a golf-ball sized glob of blood from each finger on her left hand and they all hit with the intensity of a major league fastball. Cyborg, Raven, Starfire and Robin were caught off-guard and each one took a hit to the chest.

Cyborg was the first to get up. We took a few swipes to get some of the stuff off his armor, but it did nothing more than what was expected of any liquid. He changed tactics and charged at the source.

Carmella turned to look at Terra directly. "I love it when they do that." She said, referring to Cyborg. "They forget I can do this…" Carmella curled the fingers in her outstretched hand towards the Titans, then quickly straightened them out and pointed them angled slightly down. The blood on Cyborg's chest stiffened and extended.

Through to the opposite side of his chest.

"Aaagh!" Cyborg yelled. The extended bloodclaws crossed each other and laced their way over his wrists, pulling them together and tying his arms behind his back.

Beast Boy went down to all forms and tried shifting, but what was supposed to be a large feline form only violently seized mid-shape before converting back to his natural skin. He bowled over forward screaming as his muscles and bones were slow on the readjustment.

"Beast Boy!" Terra yelled worried. She tried to stand but her knee buckled out underneath her and she too screamed as more blood poured out from the gash in her leg.

Carmella chuckled as she glanced at the thoroughly disabled couple before turning her attention back on the ones opposing her.

"No matter where it is…" She clutched her left hand shut and the blood on Starfire's shoulder wrapped itself around her neck and began to squeeze.

"No matter what's been done to it…" Robin screamed as he was bent backwards, his wrists trying to go through his legs from the back, his ankles trying to go over his shoulders.

"I do with it as I wish." Raven fell to the ground, blood on her breast looped around and bound her arms to her side while another splotch wrapped around her knees. She struggled to power through but it was like fighting a tightening rubber python. Carmella walked to the girl kneeled down to look at her before smiling. "You're kinda cute too, in that hidden and mysterious way. I'm a sucker for my namesake I guess."

Raven had never been more surprised in her entire life than when that girl leaned down and gave her a quick and bloody kiss. The salty taste hit her lips before she had the opportunity to panic.

"What the f-" The blood now on her lips fused and bound itself around her mouth, binding it shut.

"Can't have you casting any unnecessary spells. Now to get the other two."

"You won't." the words boomed out defiantly from across the lot.

The black-clad girl turned to this and smiled at the sight.


End file.
